This Sunday, Hawthorn will have two players celebrating their 250^th games on the same day for the first time.

Luke Breust and Liam Shiels will become the 16^th and 17^th players to reach the 250-game milestone for Hawthorn. In a testament to Hawthorn’s success as a club, every 250-gamer in the brown and gold is a Premiership player, with all except one (Shane Crawford) at least a triple Premiership player.

The first Hawthorn 250-gamer was Don Scott, who reached the milestone against South Melbourne at Waverley on Anzac Day 1979, and the most recent was Shaun Burgoyne in Round 23 last season. Hawthorn has had nine wins, five losses and one draw on the previous 15 occasions when a player has celebrated his 250^th game.

Both Breust and Shiels bring a perfect record in their milestone games into this encounter, with both players having experienced victories in their 50^th, 100^th, 150^th and 200^th games.

These victories include Shiels playing his 50^th in the game when Lance Franklin kicked 13 goals in 2012, and his 100^th game in a Qualifying Final win against Geelong in 2014. Breust’s 150^th game was an upset win against Sydney at the SCG in 2017.

Both Breust and Shiels also enjoyed upset wins in their 200^th games in 2019. Breust’s 200^th game was against Collingwood on a Friday night in Round 16. The Hawks trailed at very change in a low-scoring affair, but stormed home in the final term for a four-point win, with Breust himself kicking two last quarter goals. A fortnight later, Shiels was best-on-ground in a 24-point Round 18 win against Geelong.

A further good omen for Sunday’s game is that the last time Hawthorn played on 5 June, back in 2011, the game produced one of the first indications of the talent of Luke Bruest. In just his fourth game, and coming on as a sub, Breust kicked one goal right on three quarter-time, and two more in the last term, as the Hawks came from 26 points down early in the final quarter to beat Fremantle by 22 points at the MCG.

Hawthorn has won 13 of its last 15 games against Collingwood, the only blemishes being an 18-point loss in 2017 and a 32-point defeat in 2020. The sequence of nine consecutive victories against the Magpies from 2012 to 2016 was a club record.

It is 16 years since Hawthorn last lost a home game against Collingwood. Since a defeat in Round 2 2006 at Docklands, the Hawks have won 10 consecutive home games against the Magpies, all at the MCG. The sequence includes a victory in Round 22 2010, in a season when Collingwood went on to win the Premiership. Last season, Hawthorn had a home game against Collingwood at MCG in Round 21, without a crowd, and won by 19 points – 15.7.97 to 12.6.78.

This result took the overall record between the clubs to 69 wins for Hawthorn to 98 for Collingwood from 167 games. The current deficit of 29 exactly matches the one at the end of 1941 when Collingwood had won the first 29 encounters between the clubs. Hawthorn recorded its first win in game 30 in 1942, but the deficit got as big as 56 in 1974.

Two Hawthorn Premiership players are having significant birthdays this week. Russell Morris, who played in the 1986 Flag, turns 60 today (1 June), while 2008 Premiership ruckman Robert Campbell turns 40 tomorrow (2 June).

Hawthorn’s record in Round 12 games is 41 wins and 53 losses from 94 games. The club has not had many Round 12 games in recent seasons, having had byes in this round in 2018, 2019 and last season.

Twice in the past 50 years, Hawthorn has lost Round 12 matches in years ending in 2 by a solitary point, in 1972 to Melbourne at the MCG, and in 1992 to Adelaide at Waverley.

40 years ago, in Round 12 1982, Leigh Matthews continued his superb recent form with a stunning 33 disposal and five goal game as Hawthorn demolished Geelong by 59 points – 17.10.112 to 6.17.53.

A crowd of 38,086 attended the Queen’s Birthday holiday game at Waverley and saw a tight first quarter with Geelong leading by a point at quarter time. However, once Gary Buckenara goaled twice in the first nine minutes of the second quarter and Matthews kicked another off the ground, the Hawks took control. Apart from Matthews and Buckenara, others in the best players were Chris Mew, Michael Tuck, John Kennedy and Terry Wallace.

The only negative was Peter Knights being forced off the ground with bruised ribs. The game also featured a bizarre 15-metre penalty against Michael Tuck as he was penalised while waiting to hand the ball back to an injured Geelong player.  

70 years ago, in Round 12 1952, Hawthorn defeated Footscray by 23 points – 9.4.58 to 4.11.35. Jack MacDonald kicked three and Bernie Considine two, while Noel Webster made his debut. The win saw the Hawks replace the Bulldogs in 10^th position on the ladder.

Jason Dunstall holds the Hawthorn record for most goals in a game against Collingwood, having booted 11 in both 1989 and 1990. Next best was Michael Moncrieff’s 10 in 1976.

Dunstall also holds the individual goal-kicking record for Hawthorn in Round 12 – with 11 against Brisbane bears at Carrara in 1987, which he later equaled against Sydney at the SCG in 1994.