This Sunday, Hawthorn will be trying to keep intact its record of not having lost a home game against Carlton since 2000.

Hawthorn began the home winning sequence against the Blues with Ben Dixon’s memorable after-the-siren winner in 2001 and have not lost at home since, although the fixturing has meant that Hawthorn has only had nine home games against Carlton in the past 22 seasons.

This week’s match will be Hawthorn’s first MCG home game against Carlton since 2015, but the club had home games in Launceston against the Blues in 2016 and 2019.

Worth noting is that the most recent home loss to Carlton in 2000 was on the identical date, Sunday 2 July, as this Sunday’s game. Apart from that defeat, the Hawks have an excellent 2 July record having won six of the last seven, most recently against Collingwood in 2017.

Overall, from 2001 onwards, Hawthorn has won 22 of its 27 games against Carlton, including a sequence of 14 consecutive wins from 2005 to 2016. However, Hawthorn trails the all-time head-to-head against Carlton by 65 to 105 after 170 games.

Dylan Moore’s captaincy debut against Gold Coast means that Hawthorn has now had two debutant captains in just four games against the Suns at the venue.

Moore was following in the footsteps of Tom Murphy who captained the team for the sole time in Round 24 2011, when the club rested several players, including captain Luke Hodge and co-vice-captain Jordan Lewis, and with the other co-vice-captain Jarryd Roughead absent through injury.

The Hawks’ Round 16 record is one of the club’s best with 51 wins, 46 losses and one draw (in 2017) from 98 games.

Hawthorn won nine consecutive Round 16 matches from 1956 to 1964, a further eight from 1968 to 1975, and six more from 1989 to 1994. However, the Hawks have lost their past three Round 16 games (to St Kilda, Port Adelaide and Collingwood), with the most recent victory being a Friday night thriller in 2019 when Hawthorn came-from-behind to defeat Collingwood by four points at the MCG,

10 years ago, in Round 16 2013, Hawthorn played its last game at Football Park, defeating Port Adelaide by 45 points – 19.10.124 to 12.7.79. Jack Gunston and Jarryd Roughead both kicked five goals, Those two received Coaches’ Votes, along with Luke Hodge, Isaac Smith and Jordan Lewis.

20 years ago, in Round 16 2003, Hawthorn came from 28 points behind early in the last quarter to kick seven straight goals and beat Melbourne by seven points at the MCG – 17.11.113 to 15.16.106. The Hawks got back within a goal when Jade Rawlings snuck a set shot through the big sticks, although his facial expression made it appear as if he had missed.

From the next centre bounce, ex-Docker and Bulldog Kingsley Hunter, in his Hawthorn debut, got the ball out of the centre to Sam Mitchell who kicked truly. With Shane Crawford and Nathan Thompson getting injured during the game, it was the Hawks’ young guns – Mitchell, Luke Hodge, Nick Ries and Robert Campbell who stood up in the last quarter. Rawlings was best-on-ground with five goals and 11 marks. 

30 years ago, in Round 16 1993, Hawthorn also defeated Melbourne at the MCG, this time by 16 points – 16.10.106 to 12.18.90. Jason Dunstall kicked seven goals but only got two Brownlow votes, as Ben Allan’s 30 disposal game was rewarded with the three votes.

40 years ago, in Round 16 1983, Hawthorn defeated Collingwood by 37 points – 19.23.137 to 14.16.100, after an early scare when the Magpies kicked the first 5 goals of the game. However, Hawthorn kicked 11 of the next 12 goals before half-time. One of the best passages of play of the day came when Gary Ayres took a strong mark in defence and after a chain of handpasses Robert Dipierdomenico kicked a wonderful running goal. Ayres and Dipierdomenico were rated the best of a long list of Hawks which also included Michael Tuck, Russell Greene, Chris Mew and Gary Buckenara.

50 years ago, in Round 16 1973, Hawthorn won a scrappy game against Footscray at the Western Oval by 20 points – 9.11.65 to 6.9.45. Michael Moncrieff kicked three goals, while Peter Crimmins and David Parkin were the best duo for the Hawks.

60 years ago, in Round 16, 1963, a Glenferrie Oval crowd of 17,000 saw Hawthorn defeat Footscray by 44 points – 13.21.99 to 8.7.55. John Peck kicked five goals.

80 years ago, Round 16 was the final round of the home and away season and it produced heartbreak for the Hawks. Needing just a draw to make the VFL Finals for the first, Hawthorn lost to North Melbourne at Arden Street by one point – 7.16.58 to 8.11.59.

Hawthorn’s great goal-kickers never managed big bags against Carlton. Peter Hudson, Leigh Matthews and Jason Dunstall all had a top score of seven goals against the Blues. The best individual tallies for Hawthorn against Carlton are nine by Peter Knights in 1985, eight by Garry Young (in a losing side) in 1959 and another eight by Jarryd Roughead in 2009.

Peter Hudson, Jason Dunstall and Dermott Brereton share the Round 16 Hawthorn individual goal-kicking record with 11 goals. Hudson kicked 11 in 1970, equalled by Dunstall in 1989 and Brereton in 1990.