"But with a couple of minutes to go in the first half, he adopted an interventional approach. When play resumed, he was thrown into the middle and Hawthorn copped the full brunt. Any shred of malice or anger he possesses was directed at a bobbling ball. He'd see the footy, stick his bum out, put his head down and steamroll anyone in his path."
"His first game in Geelong colours, against a Hawthorn team that had won the past three premierships, is hard to surpass. So too was his first half of the 2017 semi-final against Sydney. And there was another game that year, in Luke Hodge's 300th, that was the most Dangerfield performance imaginable. At one point, it looked like he'd torn his ACL. Then he miraculously reappeared, hobbled down to full forward,"
Patrick Dangerfield dominated the preliminary final with a series of decisive interventions and relentless physicality. Early contributions included a slips catch that set up a Shannon Neale goal and a smother on Jack Ginnivan when Hawthorn had momentum. Late in the first half he shifted into the middle and repeatedly attacked bobbling balls, using low-body scrambling and strong follow-through to win contests and revive dying possessions. The performance combined elite hand- and knee-level scrambling, powerful momentum generation from low positions, and uncanny ball retrieval. The display drew comparisons with his most memorable past games and with other legendary finals performances.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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