Round 1 is a time when long summers are put to rest.
Finally there is some tangibility for punters to address all the questions and discussion over the off-season.
For players, it’s their time to make a statement and set the foundations for a new campaign.
Like Tom Mitchell’s scintillating performance in last year’s opener to kick off his Brownlow Medal season.
Or all the way back to 1970 when Peter Hudson registered eight goals first up in a year in which he would ultimately tally 146.
We’ve taken a look back at the best individual Round 1 performances for the Hawks across the last 50 years.
Read: Return in sight for Scully
Tom Mitchell (Round 1 2018 vs Collingwood)
54 disposals, eight inside 50s and nine clearances
Coming off his first All Australian season in 2017, Tom Mitchell wasted no time in backing up that fine form. Averaging 42.5 possessions through his two contests against Collingwood in his first year at the Hawks, the 25-year-old continued and extended that level of production on his way to setting a new league for most disposals tallied in a game.
Lance Franklin (Round 1 2012 vs Collingwood)
21 disposals, six inside 50s and five goals
After falling to the Pies in a heartbreaking three-point preliminary final loss the previous year, Lance Franklin was determined to get one back on his Magpie rivals. As it happened, Buddy was unstoppable, earning three Brownlow votes, as he helped the Hawks to a 22-point win.
Luke Hodge (Round 1 2010 vs Melbourne)
34 disposals, seven clearances and one goal
The previous year’s wooden spoon side Melbourne faced a tough task taking on the Hawks in their season opener. 2010 was the year of Hodge’s second Peter Crimmins medal and he certainly kicked the year off in best and fairest-level form as he gathered seven more touches than his next best teammate and 11 more than the highest Demon.
Mark Williams (Round 1 2006 vs Fremantle)
17 disposals, eight marks and eight goals
Mark Williams was dominant in 2005, winning the club’s goal kicking tally by daylight as he averaged 3.3 goals per game across his 19 outings. He started the following season with a similar level of potency, nailing eight majors on his way to his first career three Brownlow vote performance. Interestingly, Williams’ 2006 year not only started with an eight-goal performance but also ended, in Round 22, with an equally massive haul.
Jason Dunstall (Round 1 1990 vs Geelong)
19 disposals, 11 marks and 12 goals
The Hawks’ 1990 season opened with a grand final rematch. But while the previous year’s premiership play-off will always be remembered as one of the game’s classics, the two rivals’ next meeting was much more lopsided. Dunstall booted 12 goals as he spearheaded a Hawthorn juggernaut that ran away 115-point victors.
Leigh Matthews (Round 1 1981 vs Melbourne)
17 disposals, 10 marks and 11 goals
A force in the air, on the ground and in front of goals, it was a quintessential Lethal Leigh game as he led the Hawks to victory. The Hawthorn legend helped the club’s season off to the perfect start as the Hawks overcame the Demons by 41 points despite trailing at quarter time.
Michael Moncrieff (Round 1 1978 vs Melbourne)
14 disposals, four marks and nine goals
Hawthorn won its second premiership in three seasons in 1978, and the year started off on the right foot as the Hawks thumped the Demons by 79 points in the first game of the campaign. On his way to his third of six club goal kicking awards, Moncrieff booted nine goals for the Hawks as they proved too strong for a struggling Melbourne outfit.
Leigh Matthews (Round 1 1976 vs St Kilda)
29 disposals, four marks and six goals
At the peak of his powers in 1976, Leigh Matthews filled the stat sheet out in extraordinary fashion in the season’s opener. No player on the ground had more disposals nor did anyone match Matthews’ effort in front of goal. The wheels were in motion for Lethal’s fourth of eight best and fairest awards.
Peter Hudson (Round 1 1972 vs Melbourne)
13 disposals, nine marks and eight goals
Following a record-breaking 1971 season in which he booted to match Bob Pratt’s 1934 tally, Peter Hudson wasted no time kicking off 1972 in much the same fashion. Hudson booted all eight goals in the opening half before seriously injuring his knee just before half time. The future of his career was now under question in the most dramatic of circumstances.
Peter Hudson (Round 1 1970 vs Geelong)
18 disposals, 10 marks and eight goals
When your full forward is taking 10 grabs and booting eight majors in a display of pure dominance, you’d be confident your side would go home victorious. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case in the 1970 season opener as the Cats overcame the Hawks by nine points. Nevertheless Hudson was outstanding as he went head-to-head with Cats forward Doug Wade who kicked six goals of his own.
