Ahead of Hawthorn's 1983 premiership reunion this weekend, we've taken a look back at that year that resulted in the ultimate success.
We'll be telling the story across four instalments - the first part can be read here, while Rounds 6 to 11 of the 1983 home and away season are recapped below.
It is hard to remember, given the triumph which unfolded in September, but Hawthorn had a period of quite poor form in 1983 which produced just two wins in six games from Rounds 6 to 11.
The lapse in form began with a shock 18-point loss to previously winless Richmond at Waverley in Round 6 – 12.16.88 to 15.16.106. The game attracted a crowd of 33,096, the largest for a Hawthorn game in the 1983 home and away season. The defeat was certainly not the fault of Terry Wallace who had 41 disposals (the equal highest recorded by a Hawthorn player since regular recording of stats began in 1965), while others listed in the best were Schwab, Dipierdomenico, Russo, Shields and Loveridge.
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Hawthorn was missing Leigh Matthews (stomach muscles), Michael Tuck (hamstring) and Gary Ayres (thigh), but coach Allan Jeans’ main gripe with his team was that handball had been ‘ridiculously overdone’, in a game when the Hawks had 159 handballs to Richmond’s 118. There were concerns with injuries to Colin Robertson and John Kennedy, plus Michael Byrne was reported for allegedly headbutting the Tigers’ Mark Lee. Byrne received a two-match suspension after a tribunal hearing where the use of the word ‘assault’ in the charge upset Hawthorn President, Ron Cook and General Manager, John Lauritz.
The return of Matthews was one of six changes to the team for the Round 7 clash with sixth-placed North Melbourne at Princes Park. However, despite the return of the skipper, the Hawks suffered another defeat – 13.13.91 to 21.16.142. Gary Buckenara kicked five goals and Matthews four, while Wallace, Moore and Russo were among the few good players. The newspapers had headlines such as ‘Hawthorn on steep slide’ and one critic commented that Hawthorn was ‘a long, long way from being a finals contender, let alone a prospective grand finalist’. To compound the situation, Peter Russo had suffered a significant knee injury, which would sideline him for the rest of the season.
Round 8 saw Hawthorn bounce back with a 42-point victory against Essendon at Princes Park – 20.17.137 to 14.11.95. Michael Moncrieff was outstanding with nine goals, and Wallace, Greene, Eade and Tuck headed a long list of other good players. In a fiery game, Matthews got flattened in the third quarter, but got straight back up in typical ‘Lethal’ fashion. There were several incidents involving Essendon defender Ron Andrews so, when his mistake in the last quarter led to a Peter Schwab goal, it brought great delight to Hawks’ fans. However, the incident which got the most publicity was a bump by Robert Dipierdomenico on Essendon’s Alan Stoneham which resulted in ‘Dipper’ receiving a five-match suspension.
A crowd of 30,660 packed Princes Park for the clash of the co-tenants in Round 9. Hawthorn began well, racing to a 27-point quarter time lead, but a poor second term saw reigning Premiers Carlton lead by 16-points at half-time. The game tightened up in the second half with the Blues prevailing by just eight points – 15.14.104 to 14.12.96. Terry Wallace recorded 42 disposals, which broke his own record from three weeks earlier, with others listed in the best including Matthews, Knights, Mew, Moncrieff and Tuck.
Between Rounds 9 and 10, there was speculation that Rene Kink would be leaving Collingwood, with Hawthorn was one of three clubs believed to be keen to secure his services. However, he went to Essendon and ended up playing against the Hawks in the Grand Final.
For the Round 10 game with Melbourne at Waverley, Hawthorn made five changes and picked a debutant, 20-year-old Chris Langford from Melbourne Grammar who, in a promising debut, had 20 disposals and kicked a goal. The Hawks trailed their ninth-placed opponent by as much as 27 points in the second quarter, but after hitting the lead at the 11-minute mark of the third quarter, charged away to a 62-point victory - 27.9.171 to 16.13.109. The key feature in the second half was an ‘impregnable’ half-back line of Polkinghorne, Mew and Kennedy which launched many attacks from defence.
Up forward, Ken Judge, after being dropped twice for poor form, found his grove when he kicked four goals in an eight-minute burst in a total bag of seven majors for the game. Moncrieff (5), Tuck (4), Matthews (3) and Shields (3) were also among the goals and Terry Wallace was again dominant in the centre. Just to prove that a week is a long time in football, Hawthorn’s conqueror from the previous week, Carlton, lost to North Melbourne by 111 points.
The first Saturday in June saw the Hawks playing their Round 11 game against Geelong at Princes Park. Hawthorn began by kicking the first three goals of the game, but by quarter-time Geelong was in the lead. Hawthorn then appeared to be getting on top when it led by 12 points at half-time and 16 at the final change. The Hawks extended the lead to four goals early in the last quarter and posters to both Michael McCarthy and Leigh Matthews made the margin 26 points. However, then an unexpected burst of 6.4 by the Cats turned the game on its head. During this flurry of goals, both Peter Schwab and Chris Langford were reported as Hawthorn suffered a seven-point defeat – 12.16.88 to 14.11.95. The Hawks’ best were Matthews, Greene, Moore, Schwab, Buckenara and Mew.
Hawthorn’s 6-5 record at the half-way point of the 1983 home and away season had it in fourth place on the ladder, two games behind third-placed Essendon, and level on points with Geelong, Carlton and Footscray, which all also had 6-5 records. Recent results meant that the Hawks’ participation in September was far from guaranteed and unless there was a dramatic improvement in performances, there appeared little hope of challenging for the Flag.
Next up – A run of victories – Rounds 12 to 17 of Hawthorn’s 1983 season.
