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Guardian
Sep 09
1:00 AM

AFL finals: where the Adelaide v Hawthorn semi-final will be won and lost | Martin Pegan

The Hawks can ride a wave of momentum into the do-or-die clash while, as this year’s minor premiers, the Crows are under even more pressure Adelaide’s dream return to AFL finals is now at risk of turning into a nightmare. The days when sides could lose a qualifying final, as the Crows did against Collingwood, then not have to do much more than show up for a semi-final to get their campaign back on track are long gone. Hawthorn can ride a wave of momentum into the second week of finals with reason to believe they can survive a second do-or-die clash. In the nine seasons since the introduction of the pre-finals bye in 2016, eight elimination final winners have rolled on to win their semi-final. In the previous 16 seasons under the current top-eight system, only five teams started the finals with two consecutive finals victories – while just as few blew their double chance. During finals sign up for our free weekly AFL newsletter Continue reading...
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