The Kennett curse was the name given to Australian Football League club 's dominance against rival in the period between Hawthorn's upset win against Geelong in the 2008 AFL Grand FinalThe Kennett curse – AFL.com.auIt's no monkey, that's a gorilla | Geelong, VIC, Australia and Hawthorn's win in the 2013 preliminary finals.Hawthorn edges Geelong to book place in AFL grand final and lift Kennett curse, ABC Grandstand Sport (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 20 September 2013
Background
Geelong and Hawthorn contested the 2008 AFL Grand Final.Hawks set up dream final with Cats – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Geelong went into the match as the favourites; they were the defending premiers, and had lost only one match for the entire season;Preview of AFL grand final: stats, profiles and analysis | The Roar however, Hawthorn prevailed by 26 points to claim its 10th premiership.Hawks rise over Cats to claim premiership – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Ahead of the teams' first-round meeting at the start of the 2009 season, then-Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett publicly questioned Geelong's mental drive to defeat Hawthorn.Geelong lacks drive: Jeff Kennett | Herald Sun
Additionally, following the upset Grand Final loss, Geelong players made a private pact, which was later made public by Paul Chapman, to never again lose to Hawthorn.Forget The Kennett Curse, it should be renamed the Chapman Factor | News.com.auGeelong star Paul Chapman says Cats never want to lose to Hawthorn again | Herald Sun Following Kennett's comments, Geelong won the match in Round 1, 2009,Cats escape to avenge grand final heartbreak – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) and proceeded to defeat Hawthorn in eleven successive matches: a run that included a number of close games and come-from-behind victories that seemed to highlight the existence of the so-called 'curse'. During this 11-game run, Geelong won two premierships, one in 2009, and another in 2011, which included a 31-point qualifying final win over Hawthorn. Kennett's demeaning comments in 2009 came to be seen as the initiating event of a curse on Hawthorn, dubbed by fans and media as the "Kennett curse". Kennett himself (who stepped down from the Hawthorn presidency in 2011, later taking the position again in 2017) said in 2013 that while he was not proud of what he had said, he did not wish he could take it back.Hex gets Wiki guernsey Peter Hanlon (3 July 2013) The curse ended with Hawthorn finally defeating Geelong by 5 points in the thrilling 2013 First Preliminary Final, after Kennett's reign as Hawthorn president had ended. Hawthorn then went on to win the Grand Final the following week. Coincidentally, Paul Chapman, the player who first mentioned the Geelong players 'pact' to never lose to Hawthorn, played his last game for Geelong a week before the Hawthorn game, having missed the Preliminary Final due to suspension.
Results
Over the period of the curse, the rivalry between the clubs remained strong. All matches were played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, drew at least 63,000 spectators, and although Geelong won all eleven matches, most matches were close and/or involved one team coming from a long way behind. Nine of the eleven matches were decided by ten points or less, and five by less than a goal (six points), with two decided by kicks after the final siren: Round 17, 2009, with a behind to Jimmy Bartel;Bartel behind buries Hawthorn | Sports News | Fox SportsGeelong defeat Hawthorn in rivalry round thriller | The Roar and Round 19, 2012, with a goal to Tom Hawkins.Cats stun Hawks to win after the siren – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) The Cats' 11-match winning streak against the Hawks is the longest by any team following a VFL/AFL Grand Final loss to their opponent.AFL Finals: Hawthorn v Geelong preview – Hawks out to end the Kennett curse with win over Cats, ABC Grandstand Sport (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 17 September 2013
# Round/Year Winner Score Widest Margin Winning Margin Venue Attendance 1 Round 1, 2009 15.21 (111) – 16.7 (103)Geelong by 43 8 Melbourne Cricket Ground 69,593 2 Round 17, 2009 15.9 (99) – 14.14 (98) Hawthorn by 28 1 Melbourne Cricket Ground 64,803 3 Round 2, 2010 14.16 (100) – 13.13 (91)Hawthorn by 24 9 Melbourne Cricket Ground 68,628 4 Round 15, 2010 12.13 (85) – 11.17 (83)Hawthorn by 13 2 Melbourne Cricket Ground 69,220 5 Round 5, 2011 17.15 (117) – 15.8 (98)Hawthorn by 26 19 Melbourne Cricket Ground 78,579 6 Round 12, 2011 13.10 (88) – 13.5 (83)Geelong by 20 5 Melbourne Cricket Ground 63,476 7 Qualifying Final, 2011 14.14 (98) – 9.13 (67)Geelong by 37 31 Melbourne Cricket Ground 73,400 8 Round 2, 2012 14.8 (92) – 13.12 (90) Hawthorn by 18 2 Melbourne Cricket Ground 69,231 9 Round 19, 2012 18.10 (118) – 17.14 (116)Geelong by 51 2 Melbourne Cricket Ground 65,287 10 Round 1, 2013 13.15 (93) – 12.14 (86) Hawthorn by 30 7 Melbourne Cricket Ground 76,300 11 Round 15, 2013 11.16 (82) – 10.12 (72)Geelong by 33 10 Melbourne Cricket Ground 85,197 Source: Footy Wire
The losing streak ended as follows: # Round/Year Winner Score Widest Margin Winning Margin Venue Attendance 12 Preliminary Finals, 2013 14.18 (102) – 15.7 (97) Geelong by 20 5 Melbourne Cricket Ground 85,569 The curse looked to continue, with Geelong leading by 19 points midway through the final quarter, but Hawthorn rallied and kicked three goals and seven behinds to Geelong's solitary point to overrun the Cats by 5 points.http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-09-20/hawks-stop-the-streak Hawks stop the streak Paul Chapman, who earlier had publicised the Geelong players' pact never to lose to Hawthorn, missed the preliminary final due to suspension. He was then traded to Essendon at the end of the season.
Aftermath The rivalry still produces exciting games and routinely draws crowds of 63,000+ to each game (the COVID-19 pandemic notwithstanding). The following year, Geelong beat the Hawks by 19 points in Round 5 but then were blown out in their Qualifying Final to the Hawks two weeks after losing to the Hawks by 23. Those were the first half of four straight Hawthorn wins through 2015. The Cats did win their most recent finals meeting, a preliminary final, in 2025 by 30 points. During the home-and-away games since 2016, Geelong has had an overall edge, with Geelong's five wins to Hawthorn's three, including the last three wins.
Easter Monday match The Hawks and Cats have contested an annual match on Easter Monday since 2010. Year Round Winner Score Venue Attendance 2010 Round 2 by 9 points 14.16 (100) – 13.13 (91) Melbourne Cricket Ground 68,6282011Round 5 by 9 points17.15 (117) – 15.8 (98)Melbourne Cricket Ground78,5792012Round 2 by 2 points14.8 (92) – 13.12 (90)Melbourne Cricket Ground69,2312013Round 1 by 7 points13.15 (93) – 12.14 (86)Melbourne Cricket Ground76,3002014Round 5 by 19 points15.16 (106) – 12.15 (87)Melbourne Cricket Ground80,2222015Round 1 by 62 points17.21 (123) – 8.13 (61)Melbourne Cricket Ground73,5842016Round 1 by 30 points18.8 (116) – 12.14 (86)Melbourne Cricket Ground74,2182017Round 4 by 86 points20.14 (134) – 6.12 (48)Melbourne Cricket Ground62,3602018Round 2 by 1 point17.16 (118) – 18.9 (117) Melbourne Cricket Ground73,1892019Round 5 by 23 points17.11 (113) – 13.12 (90)Melbourne Cricket Ground66,3472021Round 3 by 5 points10.9 (69) – 9.10 (64)Melbourne Cricket Ground50,0302022Round 5 by 12 points14.8 (92) – 11.14 (80)Melbourne Cricket Ground48,0302023Round 4 by 82 points19.13 (127) – 6.9 (45)Melbourne Cricket Ground65,3352024Round 3 by 36 points17.4 (106) – 10.10 (70)Melbourne Cricket Ground67,0202025Round 6 by 7 points12.14 (86) – 11.13 (79)Melbourne Cricket Ground88,7462026Round 4 by 1 point13.14 (92) – 14.7 (91)Melbourne Cricket Ground84,712
See also Sports-related curses Colliwobbles
References
External links Game by game: Four years of the Kennett curse, Geelong Advertiser, 5 July 2013 The 'Kennett Curse' has nothing on these long-running sporting curses from around the world, Fox Sports, 18 September 2013 A mathematical formula for predicting Kennett curse explained
Notes