DRAMAS are usually played out in three acts. By that measure, the 2008 AFL grand final was over early. The game was defined in the second term and decided in the third. Geelong did not abandon the task but by the last quarter, it was apparent it lacked the means to win. It was that clear.

Geelong won parts of the game. Basically, it won in midfield because of Gary Ablett. I don't know that anyone has ever questioned his courage, but after Saturday's game, no one will ever want to. Time and again, he went to where it was most dangerous, head over the ball amid fierce collisions. Twice he stayed down after being hit. Ablett kept on getting the ball and kept kicking it forward but the problem was that little that was decisive came of his play.

On the day, Geelong lacked a forward line. It lacked penetration. If the Cats went forward, it was because they fought a war of attrition to get there. There were no clear, decisive moments like the one in the third when Cyril Rioli goaled and the rest of the game stopped before he had even kicked the ball. That was how far he was from any opponent. In a bitterly fought, intense encounter, there was no one within cooee of him because at a certain moment in the game, he knew better than anyone else what was going to happen, where to be and what to do once he had the ball.

I thought Geelong was gone when Rioli goaled. I thought it was in trouble when Brad Ottens missed his second-quarter goal. Geelong had three forwards in range of goal and not a Hawthorn defender in sight. Ottens had the ball but was in the least promising position. He chose to kick it himself — and missed.

Over the past two seasons, Geelong has prided itself on its selflessness. It has an award within the team for goal assists. What Ottens did was contrary to team practice and a conspicuous failure.

Then Cam Mooney missed on the stroke of half-time. He took the mark with familiar ease and the Geelong supporter beside me said: "At least we'll go in ahead at half-time". From the distance of a few metres, he missed. It seemed he tried to kick it too hard. Then he got the ball just after half-time, as if to redeem himself, and hit the post. Then Tom Lonergan — potentially the story of the day, given the journey he has walked just to play again, having almost lost his life to an injury — also hit the post. The omens were all bad.

Lonergan kicked the first goal of the day, which was exactly the start Geelong wanted. One scenario was that Geelong would crush Hawthorn by 10 goals. Briefly, this seemed a chance. Then it became apparent that the Hawks were everywhere. Every contest, even when they lost, they were there, giving their utmost. Brad Sewell is a typical Hawthorn footballer. He won the best-and-fairest award last year. He is strong, supple and alive to the nuance of the game. He's not a stylish footballer but, time and again, he's there when it matters. Hawthorn played like Brad Sewell.

The sound when Matthew Scarlett collected Lance Franklin in the first term with an utterly fair bump/shirtfront could be heard 30 metres away. It was the sound of the wind getting knocked out of someone's body. Buddy didn't get up off the canvas straightaway.

I'd say Scarlett made a very big point on Saturday. There is now a discussion as to whether he's a better full-back than Stephen Silvagni, the full-back of the century. Scarlett strengthened his case on Saturday. Buddy's two goals were of a high order but they were the only two chances he got.

The Norm Smith Medal went to Luke Hodge. His unflappable spirit is a large part of this Hawthorn team. There was a moment in the second quarter when Mooney was briefly of a mind to eliminate Hodge or make him fear that as a possibility. They finished up on the other side of the white line together. As they ran back in, you saw Hodge have a joke in Mooney's ear.

After the match, Hodge was asked for his estimation of his performance. His answer failed to be of interest to the media. Coach Alastair Clarkson was asked for his opinion of Hodge's performance. His message was that he would not be engaging in "individualism".

Geelong dominated the inside 50s, convincingly won the clearances and lost the match. It all came back to forwards, to knowing how to kick goals. Stuey Dew can. Stuey looks like the sort of bloke who could have hustled around pool tables. He appears overweight but he knew what it took to win the ball in a grand final and when he got it, and just enough space, he hit the footy like a golf ball and from the moment it left his boot, you knew it was a goal.

Dew's second goal in the third term was the one that took the Hawthorn crowd to a new level of energy and anticipation. Xavier Ellis was also excellent. His build is boyish and he looked at risk of being broken at any moment but he kept winning possessions.

It was a fair-dinkum grand final. Geelong got strangled. Jimmy Bartel was mighty early but became progressively less influential. The last quarter was curious in that Hawthorn was so much in control, yet Geelong had not stopped trying. The Cats just had no ideas, or no new ones. Whether this was a failure of personnel or of tactics is one of the questions that will now be asked.