1. Blowout blues in Launceston
This was meant to be the ‘close one’ footy fans in Launceston have been crying out for.
Too used to seeing the Hawks steamroll opposition from the AFL’s lower echelon, there was buzz around town ahead of Freo’s trip south as the prospect of a tight match between genuine heavyweights loomed large.
While the Hawks started as warm $1.38 favourites with CrownBet, few could have predicted their complete dominance after a tight opening.
By half-time the Hawks had been crunched in to a $1.01 certainty for the win and as the goals piled up and the fizz went out of the fixture during a one-sided third term, punters out there may have looked back at the opening odds as being incredibly generous.
2. The good and the bad of Sam
Such is his ability to extract the ball and link-up with teammates, Sam Mitchell’s 19 first-half disposals came almost nonchalantly – but they were almost all effective.
Despite appearing to operate under the radar for much of the first half, the former Hawks skipper did bring on more than his fair share of attention with an off-the-ball incident early in the second term.
In shades of his clash with Adelaide’s Taylor Walker in Round 12, Mitchell appeared to raise his knee to brace for contact with Freo star Nat Fyfe, making contact with Fyfe’s thigh and sending the classy midfielder almost directly to the bench in clear discomfort.
To suggest malice might be to take things a step too far, but Mitchell is likely to earn plenty of attention from the Match Review Panel and media alike in the coming days.
3. Naughty Nat
Fyfe may also have a case to answer during the week following high contact with Taylor Duryea during a marking contest during the opening term.
Seemingly hell-bent on impacting every contest he could, Fyfe’s attempt to spoil Duryea’s mark saw him make high contact with the gutsy Hawthorn half-back.
While the errant forearm warranted a free-kick and 50m penalty at the time, Fyfe and anyone with more than a passing interest in Brownlow Medal betting will be hoping the incident is viewed as nothing more than overeager and clumsy when the MRP convenes on Monday.
4. Dockers butcher the ball
With the game compressed and every contest hard-fought from the opening bounce, the ability to spread effectively was always going to be important.
As the Hawks defence squeezed up and their onball brigade locked down on Fyfe, Lachie Neale and David Mundy at every stoppage, the Dockers were rarely able to burst clear of the contest – and even when they did they were seldom able to capitalise.
Their use by foot entering the forward 50m arc left plenty to be desired, particularly given Hawthorn’s ability to intercept through Josh Gibson and Brian Lake and use precision foot skills and hard running to set-up scoring opportunities at the other end.
5. Dominant in every way
Whichever way you broke it down, the Hawks just towered over Freo in Launceston.
As well as winning the possession count comfortably (425-308), dominating clearances (49-30) and winning the inside 50 count (54-38), the Hawks out-tackled the Dockers 84-58 and, almost unbelievably, late in the final term they had booted more goals (16) than Fremantle had kicks in their forward 50m zone.
While these figures might represent nothing more than the dual reigning premiers doing what they do best at their Launceston fortress, the fact they did it against the top-placed side on the AFL ladder must have sent out a warning to the rest of the competition that the Hawks are well-and-truly on the march.
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