Gunston’s last poster’s the winner as Hawks rise late on Easter Monday

April 6, 2026 — 5:51pm

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Jack Gunston became a hero among heroes when he kicked the ball out of mid-air to edge the Hawks in front of Geelong by a solitary point with 17 seconds remaining in an Easter Monday classic that at least matched any of the epic encounters between the two rivals.

The veteran’s desperate lunging boot saw the ball cannon into the post to put the Hawks ahead.

There was no time for the Cats to strike back and Hawthorn were awarded the photo finish when the siren went.

Until then, the match had built like a rolling avalanche towards a frantic final two minutes when the noise was so deafening Sam Mitchell could not communicate with Max Bailey on the bench, even though Bailey was wearing headphones.

In those final 120 seconds, Cats’ spearhead Shannon Neale put the Cats a goal up when he kicked his fourth goal. It looked then as though the contest had finally tilted Geelong’s way.

But the Cats lost the centre clearance, then failed to control the ball in an attempt to........

© WA Today