Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Rocked by “Wharfie Time” once, Hawthorn are adamant they are better placed now to break through Fremantle’s wall of noise and deliver an AFL finals upset.
The Hawks have the daunting task of travelling to Perth for Thursday’s qualifying final against the minor premiers, who have a perfect 12-0 record at Optus Stadium this season.
Their challenge includes confronting the “Wharfie Time” crowd activation that can be used to give Fremantle a boost in tight matches.
“Wharfie Time” is a crowd activation shown on the big screen that features a boat tackling massive waves, accompanied by the iconic gong and intro from the AC/DC song “Hells Bells” and a dramatic heartbeat sound.
Incredibly, Fremantle have only turned to it once – against Hawthorn back in round nine, when the Dockers kicked the last five goals of the match to turn a 19-point deficit into a 15-point win.
“Wharfie Time” was activated when the Dockers trailed by four and it stunned the Hawks.
“If anything, it was just surprising for us initially. We didn’t really know what was going on,” forward Mitch Lewis said.
“There was sirens, the crowd got really loud, and as a forward we couldn’t do much because it was sort of centre-bounce goal, centre-bounce goal.
“They’d sort of won the game before we could blink. But we know what it is now, which is a good start. If it were to happen again, I think we’d be more prepared.”
Sam Mitchell’s Hawks are adamant they haven’t done anything special at training to simulate or prepare for “Wharfie Time”, but are ready for the experience.
Hawthorn winger Massimo D’Ambrosio admitted it was a surprise at the time.
“It was different. It’s something you don’t really experience often,” he said.
“But the environment, it is what it is and we’re ready to take that on.”
The Hawks still take plenty of heart from that defeat.
“We can reflect on it quite well for 90 per cent of the game,” Lewis said.
“I thought that was like a finals-type match early in the season, and both sides were obviously playing good football.
“We just couldn’t quite get over the line, leading at three-quarter time, and then being overrun.
“We’ll definitely take some learnings from that game and into next week. We know it’s going to be a hostile environment.”
D’Ambrosio said playing West Coast at Optus Stadium in the final regular-season game helped the Hawks familiarise themselves with the venue again.
The winger, 23, is also adamant Hawthorn have the mettle to go all the way.
“We’ve had a few finals series under our belt,” D’Ambrosio said.
“The experience does go a long way. We’re really ready for it and I think we can give it a red-hot crack.”
