HAWTHORN'S extraordinary 2024 rise has continued, its irresistible momentum carrying it through to a semi-final after a 37-point win over the Western Bulldogs.

The Hawks – who started the season 0-5 – ended the Dogs' season with relative ease, coasting away through the second and third terms to seal the 14.15 (99) to 9.8 (62) victory.

They will now face a suddenly shaky Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval next week, while the Bulldogs will be left ruing their inability to simply win the footy.

The Dogs had got off to the fastest of starts, Ed Richards charging through the middle of the ground and Aaron Naughton kicking truly in the first 20 seconds.

Conversely, the Hawks took a beat to settle, with the exception of Lloyd Meek, who was man-handling Tim English in the ruck battle, even kicking the first major for his side.

Hawthorn skipper James Sicily – dodgy shoulder tucked away under his long-sleeve and all – was simply outstanding, holding firm in front of the tall Western Bulldogs forward line, and preventing attack after attack.

He would kickstart their rebound, a dangerous mix of fast play and deliberate short passes to carve their way through the Dogs defence where Calsher Dear – who opened and closed the second term – and his band of merry men were waiting.

The Hawks had trailed by two goals at quarter-time but turned it around to lead by 11 at the main break, with the captain's 10 disposals and five marks for the term key to the bounce back.

Dear has had his share of strong games in his debut season, but properly announced himself on the AFL stage in front of an all-but completely full MCG (97,828). He took a juggling mark over the boundary then kicking truly for his third on a tight angle, to stretch the margin to 26.

It wasn't the goal that had opened the floodgates, but was one of a series of waves, the sheer number of which meant the Dogs were desperately struggling to keep their heads above water.

The Bulldogs just simply couldn't win the ball, trailing the Hawks in disposals by 101 at three-quarter time, with half the number of inside 50s.

While they were still their side's best, Tom Liberatore just couldn't quite get going, and Adam Treloar's influence was muted.

By contrast, Jai Newcombe had already hit 30 touches by the final break, while after going out to dinner at the pub the night prior, Jack Ginnivan celebrated his fourth-quarter goal with an imaginary beer.

Bont's tough night
Marcus Bontempelli had started the night brightly in the middle of the field, but as the game progressed, increasingly spent time on the bench. By the end of the third term, as the ball was struggling to reach the Dogs' half of the ground, he was sitting at full-forward, stranded from the action, with just nine touches for the game. Bontempelli kicked the opening goal of the fourth term, then threatened to boot the second, until Naughton was unable to shepherd the ball through. He finished with 18 touches. 

The wonderful Wizard of Hok
After a season of queries over his set-shot accuracy, Nick 'the Wizard' Watson was the one to stop the rot, sealing the win at the end of the third term. The Hawks had kicked four consecutive behinds, struggling to land the knock-out blow, before Ginnivan hit up a hard-running Watson in front of goal. He kicked truly, Mabior Chol celebrating so hard he leapt over his diminutive teammate. Watson finished with four, and proved he is born to play on the big stage.

Tall Dogs v mini Hawks
It was a battle of two vastly different forward lines – the land of the giant Dogs, coming up against the nippy Hawks. With Sicily playing as a loose defender, the Bulldogs struggled to take full advantage of their tall forwards. By contrast, as the game opened up, the quick movement and handball game of the small Hawks found plenty of gaps in attack.

WESTERN BULLDOGS     4.1     5.4      6.5       9.8     (62)
HAWTHORN                        2.1     7.3     11.11     14.15     (99) 

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Naughton 3, Darcy, Treloar, English, Williams, Bontempelli, Vandermeer
Hawthorn: Watson 4, Dear 3, Macdonald 2, Meek, Gunston, Newcombe, Ginnivan, Maginness 

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Liberatore, Richards, Treloar, Lobb, Williams
Hawthorn: Newcombe, Sicily, D'Ambrosio, Meek, Dear, Ward 

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Hawthorn: Nil 

SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Jack Macrae (replaced Harvey Gallagher in the third quarter)
Hawthorn: Luke Breust (replaced Jack Gunston in the fourth quarter)

Crowd: 97,828 at the MCG