Clarko’s shrewd Dew move

STUART Dew was very much Hawthorn’s accidental hero on Saturday – and he did it on one leg.

In one of the great moves in recent grand final history, Dew became a surprise matchwinner with a supercharged third quarter which took the game away from Geelong.As it happened: How the grand final unfolded blow-by-blowGallery: Savour the atmosphere of the big day at the MCGGallery: Players, fans enjoy the grand final parade

Asked about the switch, which saw him kick two of Hawthorn’s six goals for the third term, Dew said it was a case of coach Alastair Clarkson running out of options.  

“We had guys off the ground (Trent Croad and Clinton Young) who couldn’t come back,” he said.

“I had a niggle, too, and couldn’t run freely enough or play with the intensity back there (in defence) that was needed.”

Dew, the only premiership player at Hawthorn before Saturday, said Geelong were an amazing team.

“They are mentally very strong. They had to be. They refused to lie down,” he said.

He thanked coach Clarkson for having the faith in him to launch a successful return to football.

“The coaches have had an amazing faith in me all along,” he said.

“It was not as if I played every game this year.

“I was going to play in the seconds, but Ladsy (Rick Ladson) dropped out of the senior team and I got straight back in. I was lucky.”

Former Hawthorn champion Dermott Brereton had hoped the team could win and was emotional afterwards.

“Geelong has been one of the great sides and to beat them at their own game was really something,” he said.

It was a day for titans and Hawthorn ruckman Robert Campbell said Hawthorn’s boilover victory should deservedly rank with the best in the club’s 83-year history.

“The old heads stood up and the young ones ran with it,” he said.

“We were lucky enough to come out on the right side today.

“We knew we were the underdogs, but you have to go into a game thinking you can win.

“It probably didn’t happen until we got two or three goals in front (in the third quarter) and we thought s— we might win this.

“We just wanted to have a crack.

“We got ahead and were lucky enough to hang on.

Hawthorn youngster Clinton Young, who collected 19 possessions and kicked a goal, spent time on the bench after being injured.

“I had to watch on the entire second half (having rolled his ankle),” he said.

“I’m just so proud of the boys.

“We knew if we played our roles we could give it a shake. Former Port Adelaide and St Kilda player Brent Guerra was another who couldn’t believe he had played in premiership.

“It was unbelievable the way the boys fought it out,” he said.

“Geelong is a great team and to beat them the way we did is unbelievable. We just played great. But we needed to.”

Xavier Ellis was delighted not only with the win, but the fact veteran Shane Crawford was finally able to win a premiership medallion.

“It was so good not only for us, but for Crawf, to finally win one after 17 years. That is what is important,” he said.

Jarryd Roughead was still shaking his head after the match.

“Not in my wildest dreams did I think I was going to play in a premiership team,” he said.

“But we are here and we’ve won a flag. I’d like to swear but I won’t.

It’s just unreal.”

Added Mark Williams: We are all very thrilled. We had guys injured, but we didn’t want to let anyone down. It was a really great team effort.”

Mal Brown, father of Campbell, said he knew how hamstrung coach Clarkson was with key injuries to important players.

“I was just willing the siren to go from about the 15-minute mark,” he said.

“They had a game plan and they stuck to it. I couldn’t believe how many rushed behinds there were. It was amazing, But it worked.”