Hawthorn legend Michael Tuck turns 70 this weekend.

Tuck was born on 24 June 1953 and played his first game as an 18-year-old in May 1972 and his last as a 38-year-old in the 1991 Grand Final.

At the time of his retirement, he had the complete set of records for most VFL-AFL games (426), most Finals (39), most Grand Finals (11) and most Premierships (7).

Remarkably, Tuck had a winning percentage of 71 per cent, playing in 302 wins, one draw and just 123 defeats in his 426 games. He captained Hawthorn for six seasons from 1986 to 1991, leading the team to four Flags.

Luke Breust has become just the third Hawk to kick at least 20 goals in 12 different seasons.

Breust has reached the milestone in every season from his debut in 2011 until now, except for the shortened 2020 season, when he recorded 16 goals.

Leigh Matthews kicked at least 20 goals in an incredible 16 seasons, only missing in his debut season of 1969. Jason Dunstall reached 20 in all 14 of his seasons from 1985 to 1998, Breust has now moved ahead of John Peck and Michael Moncrieff, who both managed to reach 20 goals in 11 of their 13 seasons.

This Sunday’s game at Carrara will be the first time Hawthorn and Gold Coast have played at either’s main home ground since 2017. Since then, the clubs have met at University of Tasmania Stadium twice and once each at Docklands, Adelaide Oval, SCG and Marrara Stadium.

It will be just Hawthorn’s fourth game at Carrara since the Suns joined the competition in 2011, with the Hawks coming away victorious in 2011 and 2014 but suffering a heavy defeat in 2017. Overall, Hawthorn has played 10 times at the venue for a 6-4 record, having a 4-2 record against Brisbane and losing to St Kilda there in 2020.

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 then won the next three against the Suns, before two further losses. The Hawks bounced back to win by seven points at University of Tasmania Stadium in Round 21 last season. The overall record between the clubs is currently 12-4 in Hawthorn’s favour.

The crowd of 35,869 at the MCG in Round 13 was the second biggest ever for a game between Hawthorn and Brisbane. The only larger attendance was 39,007 at the MCG in 2007.

Round 15 has historically been one of Hawthorn’s best rounds, producing 50 wins, 45 defeats, two draws (in 1944 and 1956) and one bye. In the 27 seasons from 1970 to 1996, Hawthorn’s Round 15 return was remarkably good, with 24 wins and only three losses. The Hawks most recent Round 15 win was against GWS in 2021.

30 years ago, in Round 15 1993, Hawthorn recorded a solid 46-point win against Fitzroy – 15.20.110 to 9.10.64 – after leading by only a point at half-time. Jason Dunstall kicked five goals (all in the second half) and Ben Allan contributed three, with other good players including Darren Jarman, Andy Collins, Tony Hall, Paul Cooper, Darrin Pritchard, Chris Langford and Glenn Nugent.

40 years ago, in Round 15 1983, the VFL Park surface was in very poor condition for Hawthorn’s Round 15 clash with Footscray. In a remarkably even first half, scores were level at both quarter and half time, but a dominant 6.3 to 2.2 third quarter set up a 29-point Hawthorn win – 13.11.89 to 9.6.60. Ken Judge kicked four goals and those named in the best included Rodney Eade, Peter Knights, Terry Wallace, Chris Mew and Russell Greene.

60 years ago, in Round 15 1963, Hawthorn retained top position on the ladder by thrashing South Melbourne at the Lakeside Oval by 60 points – 15.15.105 to 6.9.45. John Peck starred with eight goals, which took him 13 goals clear at the top of the VFL goalkicking. Others named in the best were Graham Arthur, Kevin Coverdale, Col Youren, Peter Lyon and David Parkin.

70 years ago, in Round 15 1953, the Hawks recorded just their third win for the season, defeating South Melbourne at the Lakeside Oval by eight points – 9.8.62 to 7.12.54. The Sporting Globe attributed the win to ‘brilliant persistence, tenacity and unshaken confidence’. Tom Allsop, Bill Collins and Max Jose all kicked two goals, Collins doing so after only coming on at three quarter-time. Clive Philp, Roy Simmonds and Graham Peck headed the list of best players.

80 years ago, in Round 15 1943, Hawthorn defeated South Melbourne at Glenferrie by 32 points – 13.10.88 to 7.14.56 – to keep the chances of appearing in a first VFL Finals series very much alive. Lou Salvas and Ken Slater both kicked three goals.

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, 2017 and 2022).

The best individual return for a Hawthorn player in Round 15 is 12 goals, recorded by Peter Hudson in a 23-point win against eventual Grand Final opponent St Kilda at Glenferrie in 1971.