Geelong and Hawthorn contested the 2008 AFL Grand Final. Geelong went into the match as the favourites; they were the defending premiers, and had lost only one match for the entire season; however, Hawthorn prevailed by 26 points to claim its 10th premiership. 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. 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. Following Kennett's comments, Geelong won the match in Round 1, 2009, 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 said in 2013 that while he was not proud of what he had said, he did not wish he could take it back. 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. Ironically, 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, with two decided by kicks after the final siren: Round 17, 2009, with a behind to Jimmy Bartel; and Round 19, 2012, with a goal to Tom Hawkins. 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.
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. 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 draws crowds of 63000+ to each game. 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 qualifying final, in 2016 by 2 points. During the home and away fixture since 2016, the teams have split wins with Geelong's four wins to Hawthorn's three. The Hawks have won three of the last four ahead of the 2020 season.
