Fifty years ago this round, champion rover Peter Crimmins played his final game for Hawthorn.
In Round 7, 1975, club captain Crimmins lined up against Fitzroy at Princes Park in a game which nobody knew at the time would prove to be his final one.
Crimmins had missed the previous season’s finals series due to illness but bounced back playing the opening seven rounds of the 1975 season. He was in good form too, getting 20 or more disposals in five of the seven games, and averaging a goal per game.
However, after the Fitzroy game, a re-emergence of his cancer meant that Crimmins was out of action for several months before bravely returning in September, playing several reserves finals, but failing to gain selection in the 1975 Grand Final. He died at the tragically young age of 28, just days after Hawthorn’s 1976 premiership.
In his outstanding career, from Round 1 1966 to Round 7 1975, Crimmins played 176 games and kicked 231 goals and was a member of the 1971 Premiership team. The club’s best and fairest award is named in his honour.
In the game against Fitzroy, Hawthorn rebounded from its first loss of the season to Carlton the previous week, drawing away in the last quarter to win, 19.16.130 to 13.12.90. A crowd of 10,940 at Princes Park saw the Lions lead by eight points at quarter time, before the Hawks took the lead by 11 and 13 at the next two changes. Leigh Matthews had an outstanding game with 30 disposals and four goals. Another to contribute four goals was lanky ruckman-forward Bernie Jones.
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Hawthorn and West Coast have met twice previously at Docklands, and, on both occasions, the winner of the game has gone on to win the premiership that season.
In Round 13, 2013, Hawthorn defeated West Coast by 20 points – 19.9.123 to 16.7.103 – with Jack Gunston and Jarryd Roughead both kicking five goals. The other game, in Round 10 2018, saw West Coast victorious by 15 points – 11.9.75 to 9.6.60
Hawthorn and West Coast have played 57 times, with the Hawks winning 27 and losing 30. The Hawks have won the past three encounters, by 25 points at the MCG in 2022, by a massive 116 points at University of Tasmania Stadium in 2023 and by 61 points at Perth Stadium last season.
One of the most significant games in VFL-AFL history was the first final played outside Victoria in 1991 when Hawthorn travelled to Perth to play West Coast at Subiaco. West Coast entered the Qualifying Final with a 19-3 record and were strong favourites, but it was the Hawks who prevailed by 23 points – 18.16.124 to 15.11.101. Stephen Lawrence, Anthony Condon and John Platten headed a lengthy list of good players for the Hawks.
If the Hawks can defeat West Coast on Sunday, it will equal the third-longest sequence of home wins in Hawthorn’s 100-year VFL-AFL history. The most recent home defeat was against Sydney at the MCG in Round 7 last season and since then, there have been 10 consecutive home wins (five in Launceston, four at the MCG and one at Docklands).
The previous run of 11 consecutive home victories was in 2010-11, well behind the second longest, which is 15 wins (2013-15) and first which is an incredible 21 consecutive home wins from 1987 to 1989.
Easter Monday’s crowd of 88,746 means that, in the past 12 months, Hawthorn has now had record home and away attendances against four different opponents. The other three were Richmond (92,311) in Round 14 last season, Carlton (84,773) in Round 22 last season and Essendon (80,735) in Round 1 this season.
Connor Macdonald has now played the second-most games in number 31 in Hawthorn’s VFL-AFL history. Easter Monday was his 70th game in the number, which took him past Ricky Henderson, who played 69 games in number 31 (2017-20). The only number 31 ahead of Macdonald is Garry Young, who played 108 games from 1956-65.
Given the games played in the number, 31 has probably punched above its weight as a Premiership number with Young (1961), Bernie Jones (1976), Greg Madigan (1989) and Stuart Dew (2008) all playing in flags in number 31.
In this Anzac Day round, we should remember the 10 Hawthorn league players who lost their lives in the Second World War, or who died as a result of war wounds, or war-related illness – Jack Drake, Alf Giblett, Bruce Hone, Alex Nash, Richard Pirrie, Jack Price, Len Thomas, Max Wheeler, Leo ‘Gus’ Young and Harold Zucker, plus Seconds player, Douglas Curphey.
There were also several players who represented the club in its days in the Metropolitan Junior Football Association and VFA who lost their lives on active duty in the First World War. Their names include Hugh Callan, John Collins, William Field, Don McConville, Joseph Skene, Joe Slater and Joseph Sorby.
Hawthorn won eight consecutive Round 7 games from 2011 to 2018, matching its record in the 1970s when the Hawks won eight consecutive Round 7 games from 1971 to 1978. However, Hawthorn has lost its past six matches in this round, three to Melbourne (2019, 2020 and 2022), and each one to St Kilda (2021), Western Bulldogs (2023) and Sydney (2024). Overall, Hawthorn has played 100 games in Round 7 for 47 wins, 52 defeats and one draw.
10 years ago, in Round 7 2015, Hawthorn had 13 individual goalkickers in a thumping 105-point win against Melbourne – 24.11.155 to 7.8.50. Jarryd Roughead had a career-high 30 disposals and kicked four goals.
30 years ago, in Round 7 1995, an understrength Hawthorn team scored one of the most courageous wins in its VFL-AFL history, defeating Geelong at Kardinia Park by five points – 11.12.78 to 9.19.73.
40 years ago, in Round 7 1985, the Hawks thrashed St Kilda by 126 points – 28.15.183 to 8.9.57, with 33-year-olds Leigh Matthews and Peter Knights kicking 11 goals between them, while young ruckman Greg Dear made his senior debut.
70 years ago, in Round 7 1955, Hawthorn defeated Essendon at Windy Hill by five points – 10.10.70 to 9.11.65, setting up the victory with a 7.3 to 2.3 second quarter. Len Crane and Ian Egerton headed the list of best players for the Hawks.
The Round 7 individual Hawthorn goal-kicking tally is the highest for any round.
In Round 7, 1992, Jason Dunstall kicked 17 goals against Richmond, falling just one short of Fred Fanning’s VFL-AFL record of 18, but bettering the previous Hawthorn record of 16 set by Peter Hudson in 1969.
Jarryd Roughead set a new club record of eight goals against West Coast in Launceston in 2014, passing Dunstall, who had kicked seven against the Eagles in both 1988 and 1989.
