Reflecting on all the topical milestones and achievements, past and present, as we head into Round 23 of the 2018 season. This is 'Footy Flashbacks'....

Hawthorn takes positive records in both Round 23 and against the Swans at the SCG into Saturday night’s clash. Hawthorn is undefeated in Round 23 with nine wins from nine games and has won its last four matches at the SCG.

Last season’s SCG victory made it four in a row for the Hawks at the venue, following wins in 2011, 2012 and 2016.

Overall, Hawthorn has a 14-12 advantage in games against the Swans at the SCG and a 15-12 record at the ground, having also beaten North Melbourne there in 1979.

After the Swans moved to Sydney in 1982, the Hawks won the first five encounters between the two clubs at the SCG. Then after a couple of defeats, the Hawks won another four in a row to take the record to 9-2, before the tide turned with Hawthorn’s only victory between 1996 and 2010 being in 2003. However, the Hawks have stemmed the tide with the four recent wins.

The Hawks and Swans also played four times at Stadium Australia recording two wins each, the Hawthorn victories coming in 2013 and 2015, with Sydney prevailing in 2009 and 2014. 

Read: Bupa recovery report - Round 22

The Hawks and Swans have had one previous Round 23 meeting, playing at Stadium Australia in the final round of the 2013 season. Hawthorn needed a win to clinch the minor premiership, but victory seemed unlikely after trailing at every change by 18, nine and 10.

However, the Hawks claimed the lead within the first three minutes of the final term, with goals to Jed Anderson and Jarryd Roughead, and never surrendered it. A 6.4 to 3.0 last quarter delivered a 12-point victory – 17.10.112 to 16.4.100. Roughead finished with four goals, while Shaun Burgoyne and Jordan Lewis were among the best players.

The 2013 win also provided a welcome turnaround from other final round games against Sydney in the 21^st century, which saw Hawthorn thrashed by 54 points at the MCG in 2005 and 72 points at the SCG in 2007.

Hawthorn’s four-point win against St Kilda last Saturday night continued the club’s outstanding recent record in games decided by six points or fewer. In the past three seasons, Hawthorn has played in 15 such games for the remarkable record of 12 wins, one draw and just two losses. This recent positive run has seen Hawthorn go ahead in the overall record in these games, with 117 wins, 110 losses and 11 draws.

Hawthorn’s positive win-loss record in 2018 has reduced the overall deficit since the club joined the VFL in 1925 to just 20, with 971 wins and 991 losses (and 11 draws) from 1973 games. The last time Hawthorn was as few as 20 behind was after Round 16 1926, when the record was six wins, 26 losses and one draw after 33 games. 

Jack Gunston needs four more goals not only to bring up 50 goals in a season for the fourth time in his career, but also to join Michael Tuck on 320 career goals, in equal 11^th place on the all-time Hawthorn goal-scoring chart. 

Whether Hawthorn wins or loses on Saturday night, it will finish the home and away season with an unfamiliar number of wins. If the Hawks win, it will be the first time they have finished with 15 wins since 1985, when the record was 15-6-1. The last time it was 15-7 was two years earlier in 1983. A 14-win Hawthorn home and away season most recently occurred in 1992.

Two of the most significant final round matches in Hawthorn history involved the Swans, as the final home games at both Glenferrie and Waverley were played against them.

45 years ago, in Round 22 1973, a crowd of just 9,932 braved wet conditions at Glenferrie and saw the Hawks record a comfortable 37-point win against wooden-spooners South Melbourne. After all the excitement of Peter Hudson’s comeback the previous week, he did not play in this game. However, replacement full forward Michael Moncrieff did very well, kicking six goals, ably assisted by Leigh Matthews with three.

26 years later, in Round 22 1999, a massive crowd of 72,130 saw Hawthorn dominate from the start before going on to securing a massive 23.15.153 to 11.2.68 win. The big forwards were in sparkling form as Nathan Thompson kicked six goals and Nick Holland five, while Richard Taylor and Craig Treleven racked up the possessions in the midfield.

For final round drama against the red and white it would be hard to go past 1929. After losing the game against South Melbourne at the Lake Oval, Hawthorn player Bill Hudd was attacked by several locals, as police tried to escort him back to his car. Hudd, a former Geelong premiership player who was himself a policeman, had upset the South crowd when he tangled with a boy who was on the ground at three quarter time.

Hawthorn has played South Melbourne / Sydney 165 times, recording 92 wins, 71 defeats and two draws. Each club had periods where they dominated the other with South putting together sequences of 15 wins (1929-37) and 13 wins (1944-51), while the Hawks’ best sequences were 13 from 1971 to 1977, followed by 11 from 1981 to 1986. 

Peter Hudson holds the individual goals record for Hawthorn against the Swans, twice kicking 13, in both 1969 and 1970. Jason Dunstall holds the Round 23 record with a tally of six, which included his 1000^th career goal, against Brisbane at the Gabba in 1994.