IT'S LITTLE consolation to Sam Mitchell that Hawthorn came so close to beating arch-rival Geelong despite the Hawks playing below their best in the Easter Monday blockbuster.
The Cats won the contested possession count 144-134 on Monday and short-circuited the Hawks' precision short-passing game plan with their relentless pressure.
Mitchell's coach Alastair Clarkson conceded after the game that the Cats had been the better team for most of the match.
However, the Hawks hung in there, never allowing Geelong to skip out to a lead bigger than 13 points in the first three terms. They then kicked the first two goals of the final quarter to take a five-point lead, but couldn't go on with it, eventually going down by 19 points.
Mitchell told AFL.com.au there was too much history between the two teams for him to take solace out of a fighting loss.
"We didn't win the contested ball and we didn't use the ball that well either, which was disappointing," Mitchell said.
"Obviously everyone you speak to loves the Hawks-Cats games. They're always good to play in, big games, big crowds – we really enjoy the contest.
"But we'd like to be on the right side of them a bit more often. You want to win the big games and the Cats have had the wood on us for too long now."
Hawthorn broke an 11-game losing streak against Geelong in last year's first preliminary final, coming back from a 20-point three-quarter time deficit to pinch an emotional five-point win.
The Cats and Hawks' rivalry shows no signs of waning either. They entered Monday's game as the only remaining undefeated teams in the competition and look set to again vie for top-four positions.
Mitchell said Monday's game was a high-pressure match typical of Hawthorn-Geelong encounters.
"We didn't play our best, but I don't think they played at their best either," Mitchell said.
"I thought we were able to restrict a bit of what they tried to do as well. We probably dragged each other down a bit, but that's what happens in pressure games.
"It was a reasonably low-scoring game – there were only 11 goals scored to half-time – so I think defensively both teams were OK.
"Neither team could move the ball the way they really wanted to, but they won the battle in the end."
Mitchell praised young tagger Will Langford's effort to restrict Geelong skipper Joel Selwood to 20 disposals, including just eight in the first half.
"I think he's been motoring along pretty well, he did a good job tonight," Mitchell said.
"That's one area of the game that's been working well for us. It's a bit new. We probably haven't tagged as often before, but he's been doing a good job for us.
"Even last week, I know (Gary) Ablett had 35 touches, but I thought Will did quite a good job. I don't think Ablett's influence was quite as big as normal."
