TIO Stadium in Darwin will this week become the 33rd venue where Hawthorn has played a VFL-AFL game.

The Hawks were fixtured to play in Darwin in the same round last season, but just days before the game, Covid-related issues saw the match relocated to the SCG.

The Hawks will be hoping to build on their good recent record in venue debuts, following first-game wins at Optus Stadium in 2018 and Manuka in 2019.

However, overall, Hawthorn has won just seven of its previous 32 first games at new venues. The club got off to a bad start, losing at all 12 original grounds in 1925-26, and then suffering debut defeats at its next six new venues between 1941 and 1970.

Hawthorn finally won a venue debut game at the 19th attempt at the SCG in 1979 and since then the Hawks have won first-up at Carrara, North Hobart, Docklands, York Park, Optus Stadium and Manuka.

Big margins have also often been associated with these games with the Hawks winning by 157 points (North Hobart), 95 (Carrara), 59 (at both Docklands and Optus Stadium), 56 (Manuka) and 51 (SCG), but losing by 143 points at the MCG in 1926 and 86 points at Football Park in 1991.

Hawthorn’s next victory will see the club reach the significant milestone of 1,000 VFL-AFL wins.

The win against the Brisbane Lions on Sunday took the Hawthorn win tally to 999, which is balanced against 1,035 losses and 13 draws from 2,047 games since joining the League in 1925.

Last Sunday, Sam Frost kicked his first Hawthorn goal in his 48th game for the club, the third latest into a Hawthorn career for a first goal, being behind only Josh Gibson (127th game) and Len Crane (98th game). In an odd coincidence, all three defenders came to Hawthorn from other clubs, where they had kicked goals.

Alf Hughes holds the record as the Hawthorn player with the most career appearances without registering a major. Hughes played 107 games between 1953 and 1959 without kicking a goal. Close behind him was another legendary Hawthorn defender Cam McPherson who did not goal in his 104 games from 1959 to 1966. Ben Stratton holds the record for most consecutive Hawthorn games without a goal, having played 184 games goalless games between his first goal in his 17th game and his second in his 202nd and final game.

Hawthorn won its first eight games against Gold Coast, which was a better starting record than against any other club. The run ended in 2017, when the Hawks lost to the Suns by 86 points at Carrara in Round 3 and then suffered another defeat by 16 points at the MCG in Round 12 of the same season. Hawthorn bounced back to win the next three against the Suns, before a loss in the relocated game at the SCG in Round 11 last season, to leave the overall record between the clubs at 11-3 in Hawthorn’s favour.

Last Sunday’s five-point win against Brisbane Lions continued Hawthorn’s excellent recent record in game’s decided by six points or fewer. In the past seven seasons, Hawthorn has played in 28 such games for the strong record of 18 wins, three draws and just seven losses. This recent positive run has seen Hawthorn go ahead in the overall record in these games, with 123 wins, 115 losses and 13 draws.

Brisbane Lions losing score of 17.10.112 was the highest losing score against Hawthorn since Geelong kicked 18.9.117 in a one-point loss to the Hawks on Easter Monday 2018. Sunday was the first time when Hawthorn played in a game in which both teams reached 100 since the four-point win against Essendon in Round 20 2018.

The win against Brisbane Lions meant that Round 10 became the fourth round in which Hawthorn has recorded 50 wins, joining Rounds 3, 15 and 16.

However, Round 11 has historically been one of Hawthorn’s less successful rounds, with 38wins, two draws and 55 defeats from 95 games (with byes in 2013 and 2015). Hawthorn’s most recent Round 11 win was in 2018, a three-point success against Port Adelaide at University of Tasmania Stadium.

10 years ago, in Round 11 2012, Hawthorn recoded a comfortable 46-point victory over Port Adelaide at Football Park – 16.12.108 to 9.8.62. Coming off his 13-goal effort the previous week, Lance Franklin kicked a more modest four goals, while Luke Breust contributed three. Breust’s effort got him one Brownlow vote, with Sam Mitchell getting the two votes and Brad Sewell three votes for an outstanding 33-disposal game.

40 years ago, in Round 11 1982, Hawthorn thrashed Melbourne by 79 points at Princes Park – 26.22.178 to 14.15.99. The goals were shared around with John Kennedy and Leigh Matthews both kicking four, while Michael Byrne, Richard Loveridge, Michael Tuck and Terry Wallace all kicked three. As well as his four goals, Matthews was at his brilliant best around the ground, having 26 kicks and nine handpasses and producing what The Age called a ‘vintage display’.

90 years ago, in Round 11 1932, bottom team Hawthorn (with a 1-9 record) scored an upset 21-point Glenferrie Oval win over sixth-placed Footscray (5-5). Bert Hyde kicked three goals and ‘Tich’ Utting two.

Jarryd Roughead’s six goals against Gold Coast in his final game in 2019 is the record for Hawthorn against the Suns, surpassing the bags of five kicked by Luke Breust (2011), Lance Franklin (2013) and Jack Gunston (2014 and 2017).

The Hawthorn Round 11 individual goal-kicking record is held by Peter Hudson with his 13 goals against South Melbourne at Glenferrie in 1969.