1. Mr Reliable puts it wide, Cyril drops the ball
If there was a man you wanted to have a set shot to win a game last season, it would have been Luke Breust. The Hawks small forward bagged an incredible 57.12 in 2014, but his radar hasn't been tuned to the same freakish levels this year, booting 19.12 and his miss from 30m in the dying stages – which would put the Hawks up by a point - will burn. Cyril Rioli was outstanding all night, but even the mercurial star let the Swans off the hook moments later when he dropped a handball from Jack Gunston running into an open goal with just seconds remaining. The four-point loss means the Hawks drop to 4-4 and the back-to-back premiers are yet to string together consecutive wins in a stuttering start to the season.
2. Slick Swans seek redemption
Both camps talked down the Grand Final rematch, but from the opening bounce there was no doubt this clash meant more than just four points. The Swans' attack on the ball (they won contested possessions 44-35) and slick ball use in the first term could not have been more of a contrast from their dismal effort on the big stage last September, and they held the Hawks goalless in a quarter for the first time since round 22, 2012. Spotfires flared up across the ground and neither team took a backward step in a feisty start, with a melee involving about 20 players set to leave a number of them lighter in the hip pockets.
3. Cyril sparks Hawks comeback
It was a Rioli cameo that helped Hawthorn get off to a flyer in last year's Grand Final, and the electric small forward was at it again on Saturday night. With his side down by 32 points early in the second term, Rioli produced a scintillating 15 minutes of football, highlighted by some scorching chase-down efforts and a clever chip across his body to Luke Breust to ignite a four-goal Hawks charge. The triple-premiership star had 12 touches, four tackles and five score involvements to half-time and finished with 15 touches, 10 score involvements and 2.1. Had he held on to the late handball from Jack Gunston and iced the win, it would have been a game for the ages.
4. Buddy goes missing
Million-dollar forward Lance Franklin was one of only a handful of Swans who could hold his head high after last year's Grand Final - however the superstar will want to forget his performance on Saturday night. It must be said there are rumours Buddy is battling an ankle issue, but he was completely blanketed by James Frawley in the ex-Demon's best game in brown and gold. Franklin had just three touches to half-time and no matter how hard he tried couldn't get into the game at any stage, finishing with just seven touches. He also went scoreless for the first time since round 19, 2009 - the first time in almost six years.
5. Stratton clocks up the ton
Ben Stratton counts himself lucky to have lobbed at Hawthorn with pick No.46 in the 2009 NAB AFL Draft, but he's certainly earned his keep. The dual-premiership player rarely attracts the headlines but in 100 games he has moulded himself into a key cog in the Hawks back six, with his ability to play taller or smaller than his 189cm crucial during the club's recent injury problems. President Andrew Newbold declared pre-game the ultra-consistent West Australian would be top three in the Hawks best and fairest, and Stratton churned out another unassuming display in the Hawks' loss with 10 touches.
