This Sunday might be Hawthorn’s first VFL-AFL game at Norwood Oval, but the Hawks have won a trophy there.

In 1976, the Hawks won the Final of the NFL Championship series, a midweek night series involving leading clubs from Victoria, SA, and WA.

Having won its first game in Perth, Hawthorn then played three games at Norwood Oval, defeating Sturt by 42 points and Glenelg by 26 points which set up the clash in the Final against great 1970s rival, North Melbourne.

The Final was played on 17 August 1976 before a pro-North crowd of 7,374 and saw Hawthorn win by 48 points - 12.17.89 to 5.11.41. Michael Moncrieff kicked four goals and Alan Goad booted three, while first-year defender David O’Halloran was adjudged best-on-ground, winning a $1000 colour TV. Hawthorn was coached by Assistant Coach, David Parkin, but Senior Coach, John Kennedy was ‘a surprise visitor to watch his team’. 

Mike Sheahan, writing in The Age, described the game ‘as fierce as nay the two teams have played in the VFL’. He also commented that Hawthorn had been ‘a shaky VFL leader in recent weeks’, but this game saw them back at their ‘ruthless best’. This was to be the third of five Hawthorn wins against North in 1976, having already secured victories in Rounds 2 and 13, and going onto beat the Kangaroos again in the Qualifying Final and the Grand Final.

The NFL Championship continued in the following seasons, but without the VFL clubs which withdrew and revived a Night Series under their own auspices. This left Hawthorn as the only Victorian winner of the competition.

Norwood Oval will become the 35^th ground at which Hawthorn has played a VFL-AFL game.

The Hawks have won three of their past four games at new venues, with victories at Perth Stadium (2018), Manuka (2019) and Bellerive (2022), with the only recent blemish being at Marrara in Darwin (2022).

Overall, Hawthorn has won eight of 34 first games at venues, getting 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 19^th attempt at the SCG in 1979.

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 Perth Stadium), 56 (Manuka), 51 (SCG) and 46 (Bellerive), but losing by 143 points at the MCG in 1926 and suffering defeats by more than 10 goals at six other first-time venues.

In the past 50 years, Hawthorn has begun a season with a LLWL record in the first four rounds on four previous occasions – 1973, 2000, 2002 and 2009. In all four cases, Hawthorn then won in Round 5. Let’s hope that history repeats in 2023.

Round 5 produced what was then the highest, and remains the second highest, individual goal tally in Hawthorn history, when Peter Hudson kicked 16 against Melbourne at Glenferrie in 1969.

Remarkably, despite Hudson kicking seven first half goals, the Hawks trailed by three points at half time. The Sun reported that “Hawthorn hit the lead early in the third quarter when Hudson, standing with hands on hips away from the play, seemed to hypnotise the ball. It came to him in the clear and his eighth major put Hawthorn two points up”. 

Hudson added four goals in the third term and another five in the last and, with mounting excitement, “the Hawthorn grandstand chanted “Peter Hudson, Peter Hudson” as his goal tally increased. His 16 came out of a total score of 21.10.136 (versus Melbourne 14.20.104), with the other five goals coming from Crimmins (3), Chilton and Ferguson.

Jarryd Roughead holds the Hawks’ individual record against GWS kicking six in 2012 at the MCG.

Hawthorn has an excellent record against GWS at all venues except Giants Stadium.

The Hawks’ overall record in 12 games against the Giants is six wins, a draw and five defeats. All five defeats have been at Giants Stadium, compared to an unbeaten record at the other venues (MCG, Launceston, and Canberra) where the teams have met.

Hawthorn has played 97 games in Round 5 for 42 wins and 55 losses (having a bye in 1993). The Hawks won their Round 5 games from 2015 to 2017, but then lost four in a row from 2018 to 2021, before defeating Geelong in Round 5 last season.

10 years ago, in Round 5 2013, Brian Lake made his Hawthorn debut in a thrilling three-point win against North Melbourne. Hawthorn won 14.15.99 to 13.18.96 before a crowd of 42,103 at the MCG, overcoming a free kick count favouring North by 30 to 15. Cyril Rioli was outstanding with 20 disposals and four goals, but unfortunately injured his hamstring late in the game. Max Bailey kicked a career-high three goals, all in the first quarter.

40 years ago, in Round 5 1983, Hawthorn made six changes, with the inclusions including two debutants, Peter Curran and Russell Shields, who both kicked two goals. The crowd of 28,506 at Victoria Park for the game against Collingwood saw Hawthorn win by 22 points - 14.11.95 to 9.19.73. Hawthorn’s best was Michael Tuck, who finished with four goals, and other good players included Russell Greene, Terry Wallace, Peter Knights and Leigh Matthews.

50 years ago, in Round 5 1973, Hawthorn stormed home in the last quarter at Glenferrie to defeat Footscray, 18.16.124 to 16.12.108. The Hawks had then been outscored 10.4 to 1.4 in the second quarter to trail by 31 points at half-time. The Bulldogs still led at the 28-minute mark of the last quarter, before goals to Charlie Grummisch, Wayne Bevan and Alan Goad clinched the win for the brown and gold. Leigh Matthews was best-on-ground, with the best players also including his brother, Kelvin, Brian Douge and Des Meagher.

60 years ago, in Round 5 1963, Hawthorn defeated Footscray by 19 points at the Western Oval – 11.10.76 to 8.9.57. John Peck kicked four goals and Ian Mort three, with Graham Arthur best-on-ground.

80 years ago, in Round 5 1943, Hawthorn overcame South Melbourne at South’s temporary wartime home of Princes Park. Hawthorn won by 10 points – 12.13.85 to 10.15.75 – with Wally Culpitt kicking six goals. Culpitt had played the first 44 games of his career as a defender and had three goals to his name. Now, in three weeks at full-forward, he had booted nine, six and six, a remarkable 21 goals in three matches, as Hawthorn reached an unprecedented 4-1 record after five rounds.