THE SIGHT of Sydney Swans midfielder Josh Kennedy holding his ground under a Hawthorn tackle while handballing to a teammate was one of the constants of the semi-final loss to Hawthorn.

At 188cm and 96kg, Kennedy is one of the largest, and certainly strongest, midfielders in the competition. His ability to hand off under pressure perfectly suits the Sydney game-plan of forcing the ball forward via stoppages.

Kennedy had 16 clearances against Hawthorn, a figure that Champion Data says is a record in finals. Melbourne's Brent Moloney holds the overall record with 19.

Of Kennedy's 35 possessions against Hawthorn, a remarkable 25 were contested. According to the statistics pages on afl.com.au, Kennedy's average number of contested possessions per game is 15, so you can see that the boy has no trouble getting his hands dirty.

And, given his similarly strong performances during the finals in 2010, he seems to thrive on big occasions.

Gibson spoils the day
Hawthorn defender Josh Gibson had so many two-fisted spoils during the Hawks' 36-point victory over the Swans that he must have worn out his knuckles.

His tally of 21 spoils is a record, according to Champion Data, usurping the mark set by Brisbane Lions full-back Daniel Merrett. The big Lion had 19 spoils in two matches early this season.

Of Gibson's spoils, 16 were effective, meaning they resulted in a Hawthorn possession or a stoppage.

No records are available on effective spoils.

Equal worries for Hawks
Here's something that might worry Hawthorn fans before Friday night's preliminary final against Collingwood.

Hawthorn has an average of 14 more inside-50s against all teams this year.

But it has an average of nine fewer inside 50s against its fellow top four teams, Collingwood, Geelong and West Coast.

While the Hawks did have one more inside-50 against Geelong in round five, they had 14 fewer inside 50s against Geelong in round 12.

They had 15 fewer inside 50s against Collingwood in round 15 - and 18 fewer inside 50s against Geelong in the qualifying final.

Hawthorn's defence is deemed questionable, but it's the midfield that's under pressure with statistic. In essence, Hawthorn is able to move the ball through the middle with clean possessions against the minnows but it doesn't enjoy the same freedom against the top teams.

Either it struggles to get the ball or it disposes under pressure when it does get the ball.

St Kilda led the field during the home and away rounds with uncontested possessions as a percentage of overall possessions, with 63.5 per cent. The Saints relied on chipping the ball around.

Hawthorn was only marginally behind with 63.4 per cent. Hawthorn players rely on skill with their feet - which they can execute when the pressure's not on.

Put simply, Hawthorn must win more contested possessions against Collingwood on Friday night. And it must keep its feet when it does win the ball, allowing it to proceed into the forward 50 with precision.

Cats have to get their paws dirty
Geelong has a game-plan of not particularly worrying about clearances. Instead it puts pressure on opposition players at stoppages, which forces the opposition into a miskick forward.

The Geelong player stationed a kick behind play takes the mark and then begins the Cats' attacking wave towards goal.

In concentrating on this modus operandi, Geelong has become the team that racks of the most marks from opposition kicks.  But against West Coast fortunes have been reversed.

The Eagles took 21 marks from Geelong kicks during their victory over the Cats at Patersons Stadium in round 16. Geelong, by contrast, had only nine kicks from opposition kicks that night.

West Coast sets up strong at stoppages. You'd think this tactic would help it minimise the miskicks on which Geelong thrives.

The Cats might have to get more involved at stoppages than is usually the case.