There are a couple of significant anniversaries to kick off this week’s Footy Flashbacks.

This round marks the 20^th anniversary of the debuts of Jordan Lewis and Jarryd Roughead in Round 3 2005. Against Essendon at the MCG, Lewis made a promising debut, winning plenty of the ball (21 disposals) and using it well. Roughead kicked two goals in the third quarter as the Hawks fought back from a 30-point half-time deficit, to lose by just two points.

This round also marks the 10^th anniversary of statistically the best game of Luke Hodge’s illustrious career. In Round 3 2015, Hodge had a career-high 44 disposals (his next-highest tally was 40) and kicked two goals against the Western Bulldogs in Launceston. Hawthorn won by 70 points – 19.13.127 to 8.9.57 and Jarryd Roughead also starred with seven goals.

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Hawthorn has commenced a season with three consecutive wins for the 14^th time since joining the VFL-AFL in 1925.

On eight of the previous 13 occasions, the Hawks then won again to make it a 4-0 start.

Six of Hawthorn’s 3-0 starts went on to become Premiership seasons (1971, 1976, 1983, 1986, 2008 and 2014), a further three (1975, 1984 and 1987) saw the Hawks finish as runners-up, and two more (1982 and 2001) finished in Preliminary Finals.

Jack Gunston’s two magnificent third-quarter goals last Thursday night were the first he has kicked for Hawthorn in an odd-numbered year since 2019.

Due to injury, Gunston only played one game in 2021, in which he failed to kick a goal, and in 2023 he was having his sabbatical at the Brisbane Lions. In the intervening even-numbered years, Gunston kicked 31 goals (2020), 32 (2022) and 29 (2024), a total of 92 goals.

Hawthorn has now played 10 games on dates up to and including 21 March and remarkably, four of the 10 have resulted in 20-point Hawthorn wins.

Prior to this season, there had been 20-point wins against Geelong on 21 March 1992 and North Melbourne on 20 March 2022, and now this season has seen further such 20-point victories over Sydney (7 March) and Carlton (20 March).

The other two wins on dates in the first three weeks of March were both against Essendon, by one point in 2021 and 26 points this season, while Hawthorn has also suffered four defeats in this period, however none by 20 points.

This will be just Hawthorn’s second game played at University of Tasmania Stadium in March. The one previous game was in Round 1 2014 when Hawthorn defeated Brisbane Lions by 48 points - 21.13.139 to 13.13.91. Luke Breust and Jarryd Roughead both kicked five goals, while Grant Birchall and Liam Shiels also starred.

Hawthorn has never lost a home game against GWS, recording five wins and a draw from six matches.

Three of those games have been at University of Tasmania Stadium, with wins in 2013 and 2024, and a draw in 2017. The other three home games at the MCG were in 2012, 2014 and 2018, although Hawthorn also played an away game against the Giants at the MCG in 2021 (for Covid-related reasons) and won that too.

Hawthorn looked to have lost the Round 16 2017 Launceston game when GWS took a 13-point lead at the 23-minute of the last quarter. However, Luke Breust reduced the margin to a goal and then, at the 31-minute mark, Will Langford kicked a goal to level the scores. There was time for one further Hawthorn attack before the final siren signalled a tied match.

A win this Saturday night will see the Hawks square the overall ledger against the Giants, which currently from 15 games has Hawthorn with seven wins, a draw and eight defeats. The first-ever game between the clubs in 2012 saw Hawthorn record the second-highest winning margin in its history – 162 points, with a score of 28.25.193 to 4.7.31.

Victory this week will also see Hawthorn equal its second-longest winning sequence of seven at University of Tasmania Stadium, set in 2010-11. The Hawks will still have a way to go to match the record of 19 consecutive victories from 2012 to 2016. Overall, at University of Tasmania Stadium, Hawthorn has played 82 games, for 61 wins, one draw and just 20 defeats.

Hawthorn is in top position on the ladder after Round 2 for just the fifth time in club history. The four previous instances were in 1957, 1983, 2008 and 2022, seasons which resulted in two Flags and a third-placed finish. Obviously, this season is a little unusual with Hawthorn being one of three clubs to have played three games after Round 2.

Round 3 has historically been one of Hawthorn’s best rounds, with 52 victories and 48 losses from 100 matches. The Hawks had a remarkable Round 3 record between 1971 and 1992, winning 19 and losing just three. Hawthorn also won six Round 3 games in a row from 2011 to 2016, and more recently won in 2019, 2020, and 2023.

50 years ago, in Round 3 1975, Hawthorn made it three wins in a row at the start of a season for just the fourth time in club history with a 29-point victory over Richmond at Waverley – 17.14.116 to 12.15.87. Leigh Matthews kicked five goals and John Hendrie three, with those two being joined in the best players by Geoff Ablett, Kelvin Matthews and Don Scott.

70 years ago, in Round 3 1955, Hawthorn made it two wins in a row, defeating South Melbourne at Lake Oval by 42 points – 15.8.98 to 7.14.56. Geoff Howells kicked a career-high five goals and Kevin Coghlan contributed three. Those named in the best players included Clive Philp, Len Crane, Roy Simmonds and John Kennedy.

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

The individual goalkicking record for Hawthorn in Round 3 is 11 kicked by Leigh Matthews versus Essendon at Waverley in 1973. Michael Moncrieff had a particular liking for Round 3, kicking 10 in both 1974 versus South Melbourne and 1976 versus Collingwood.

Both Matthews and Moncrieff sustained their fondness for Round 3 well into the 1980s, as both booted six goals in Hawthorn’s 129-point demolition of St Kilda at Moorabbin in Round 3 1983. Moncrieff’s goals included the 600^th of his career, the third Hawk to reach the mark following Peter Hudson and Matthews.