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MELBOURNE, Australia -- Forward Jack Gunston kicked four goals as the Hawthorn Hawks beat the Fremantle Dockers 11. jerseys nfl cheap free shipping .11 (77) to 8.14 (62) on Saturday to win the Australian Football League championship for the 11th time at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Hawthorn led 5.5 (35) to 1.6 (12) after a fast-paced but low-scoring first half - the first since 1960 to see only six goals scored. Playing in their first-ever Grand Final, Fremantle narrowed Hawthorns lead to 6.5 (41) to 5.8 (38) midway through the third quarter, but late goals by Luke Breust and Bradley Hill allowed the Hawks to hold on and to claim their first AFL title since 2008. Hawthorn were top qualifiers after the regular season and were playing in the Grand Final for the third time in six years. Their end-to-end win -- Gunston kicked the opening goal after 3 minutes, 39 seconds -- allowed them to finally shed a reputation as under-achievers after their upset, 10-point loss to Sydney in last years grand final and their three-point loss to Collingwood in the 2011 preliminary final. They remain the only club to have won at least one premiership per decade since the 1960s, accumulating 11 titles since 1961. A total of 10 Hawthorn players became two-time premiership winners, including Shaun Burgoyne, who won with Port Adelaide in 2004 and superstar Lance Franklin, who kicked one goal in the first quarter in another quiet match. Coach Ross Lyon, who led Fremantle into the premiership decider for the first time in their 19-year history, remained without a win in four Grand Finals. He guided St. Kilda to the premiership deciders in 2009 and 2010, when a replay was needed to find the champion. Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson won the premiership for the second time in his nine-year reign. Gunstons three first-half goals were crucial in a close-fought match, in which Fremantle didnt kick their first goal -- through Tendai Mzungu -- until the 12th minute of the second quarter. By that stage Hawthorn had four goals and Gunston strengthened their position when he followed Mzungus major with his third goal. In a match which was occasionally made scrappy by wet conditions, Fremantle dominated the ruck in the first half through Aaron Sandilands without turning possession into points. Midfielders David Mundy, Nathan Fyfe, Michael Barlow and Stephen Hill led Fremantles strong start to the third quarter when it kicked five of the first seven goals. But Fremantle paid for their inaccuracy, putting four shots out on the full and wasting late chances by kicking 2.4 in the final quarter. Brian Lake won the Norm Smith Medal as the best afield, claiming his first premiership medal after losing three preliminary finals with the Western Bulldogs. Jordan Lewis, Josh Gibson, Grant Brichall and Cyril Rioli, who laid seven tackles, were also prominent for Hawthorn while Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley kept Sam Mitchell to just 12 touches. jerseys from china . The World Group first round series will now continue Monday with Spain leading 1-0. Earlier Sunday, Czech Klara Zakopalova led the second singles match against Maria Torro-Flor 6-3, 2-0. jerseys nfl cheap authentic . It all paid off Friday night, when the Toronto right-hander earned his first victory since 2008 with an effective and emotional effort at Baltimore. McGowan allowed five hits over 6 1-3 innings, and the Blue Jays used two unearned runs to beat Chris Tillman and the Orioles 2-0. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- For a guy who loves to talk on the field, New Englands Aqib Talib sure has been quiet lately. The Patriots cornerback injured his hip in the Patriots win against New Orleans on Oct. 13 and missed the next three games. He hadnt spoken after practice until Thursday, when he said hes eager to return to the field Monday night for New Englands game against the Carolina Panthers. "Im practicing good," Talib said, with a wide grin. "Day to day. Trying to get back." Fresh off the Patriots bye last week, Talib was a limited participant in Thursdays practice. Thats the same designation hes had for a while, and he said watching his teammates play without him was "the worst thing in the world." Coach Bill Belichick was more candid than usual when asked about the player who leads the team with four interceptions and whos been solely responsible for shutting down some of the leagues elite pass catchers. "Hes continued to progress. Well keep doing, as they can tolerate it, do more and evaluate how they do at a little bit higher level," Belichick said. "Then if that goes well, then ramp it up and see where we are as we go through the week." New Englands secondary withstood the absence of its top playmaker, going 2-1 during the stretch. The Patriots (7-2) could benefit from his return against the Panthers (6-3), who have won five straight games and scored 30 or more points in five of their past seven. "Unbelievable player, happy to have him on the field with us," said defensive end Rob Ninkovich. "I think the guys that stepped in when he was gone, they did a great job, but having him back is just going to help us as far as have more depth and keep guys rolling." Should Talib return for New Englands only Monday night game this season, he likely will be matched up with one of the most successful receivers of the past decade in Steve Smith. Talib, who spent his first fouur-plus seasons playing in the NFC South with Tampa Bay, is familiar with the flashy veteran. wholesale jerseys. "He brings it every Sunday or Monday or whenever the game is," Talib said. "I think if youre competitive like that, youre going to be pretty successful." Smith has tallied more than 800 receptions and 11,000 yards in his career, and has a team-high 42 catches for 450 yards and three touchdowns this season. Talib knows exactly what to expect from Smith -- his best effort and a lot of chatter. "Youve got a lot of guys who do a lot of talking to (the media), and we get out there and they dont say too much on the field," Talib said. "But Steve is definitely one of those guys, hes going to do it on the field." Not unlike Talib. "Yeah," he said with a smile, "I say a couple words." Shadowing the oppositions top threat is becoming commonplace for Talib. Julio Jones was near the top of the league in every major category when Talib held him to a season-low six catches. He caught just three of his first 10 for 22 yards. The following week, Talibs talents helped limit Cincinnatis A.J. Green to five catches for 61 yards. Green now leads the league in yards and ranks second in receptions. And still to come was his premier performance, spearheading an effort to shut down New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham, who tops all receivers with 10 touchdowns but was held without a catch against New England for the first time in a span of 46 games. Belichick went so far as to compare Talib to former Patriots cornerback Ty Law. "Maybe Ty would be similar in that he was a good corner and you could put him on a lot of players and not maybe feel like you need to give him a lot of help," he said. "I think Talib is a guy that we have a lot of confidence in and probably would treat his matchups a little bit differently than weve treated some other ones in the past." cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
