SURELY, the Showbiz Hawk has been practising a plane celebration, ready for take-off Sunday night.
Jack Ginnivan's Hawthorn versus Port Adelaide and Kenny Hinkley at Adelaide Oval. We all know how it ended last time and we all hope for similar drama this time.
In the 30 weeks that have elapsed since the epic Port win – and the dramatic and controversial aftermath – in a 2024 semi-final, the fortunes of the two clubs could not have contrasted more sharply.
Hawthorn hasn't lost since. Port has since won once, against last year's wooden spoon team. The Hawks added two gun players in the trade period, Tom Barrass and Josh Battle. The Power lost one, Dan Houston.
Hawthorn is the 2025 premiership favourite, Port Adelaide more prominent in wooden spoon markets. Hawks coach Sam Mitchell has been meeting with Oscar Allen, a captain of a rival club, and spending a heap of time planning for the future. The Port coach has known since February that no matter what happens in 2025, he is out of a job for 2026.
The Hawks have a captain, James Sicily, playing at the peak of his powers; the Power have Connor Rozee languishing in a form slump, and seemingly a world away from his two-time All-Australian standards.
It was Sicily who had to be held back from Hinkley in the moments after the final siren in last year's semi-final, incensed that Ginnivan had been mocked by Hinkley verbally and in action, via his outstretched arms in plane-flying mode.
The drama came after Ginnivan had used social media to say "see you in 14 days" to Swans player Brodie Grundy, a post which Hinkley felt taunted him and his players with Ginnivan considering victory against Port as a foregone conclusion.
Whatever works for motivation, it produced the most tense of contests and then explosive post-match theatre. Hawthorn, convinced it should have won through to a preliminary final, regrouped and prepared for 2025. It sits atop the AFL ladder leading into Gather Round.
Port was belted the following week against Sydney in a preliminary final. Its board second-guessed itself over Hinkley's tenure before announcing late in the pre-season that Josh Carr would be taking over at the end of 2025.
Last week, even when it was in its bye period, Hawthorn dominated the positive media space following Mitchell's attempted raid on Allen. And at the end of the same week, leading into a weekend where the Hawks weren't playing, up bobbed Sicily at a media conference, where he continued the pitch to Allen, this time in front of cameras and microphones.
While all this was unfolding, Port was coming off a bad loss. And then had another poor start against St Kilda on Sunday to slump to 1-3 on the year.
Which gets us to the closing match of round five. The AFL, after fining Hinkley $20,000 for "conduct unbecoming" in his actions against Ginnivan, has provocatively chosen to schedule it in the blockbuster Sunday night slot.
The Hawks have now got a sizeable unavailability list. Superstar Will Day is again seriously injured. Connor Macdonald, Mitch Lewis, Jack Scrimshaw and Calsher Dear all won't play.
It would be sooooo Kenny to win this, against the odds, like last year's semi-final. And sooooo Ginnivan to have worked on another post-goal act to add to a repertoire which already includes a dart-throw, prayer session, beer-can opening and a shoosh, as well take-offs of international sports stars Mikal Bridges and Marcus Rashford.
Kenny versus Ginni, the sequel. Bring it on.
