In a Tweet

The Rundown

Hawthorn and Melbourne faced off in a semi final with each club seeking their own slice of history. For the Demons, it was a chance at a preliminary final, an opportunity they had missed in the 18 previous seasons. As for the Hawks, they were looking to avoid a straight sets dismissal for their second consecutive finals series and the second time in the club’s history. Hawks forward Ryan Schoenmakers kicked the first goal of the evening, but that would ultimately prove the last time Hawthorn would hold the lead. A disappointing second and third quarter, in which the Demons added nine goals to the Hawks’ three, was the downfall of Hawthorn’s quest for a return to preliminary final action.

The Star

Jack Gunston was already the most influential Hawk on the ground, but his night could have easily gone from good to great had he kicked straighter. Typically a sharp-shooter, Gunston finished the game with 3.5 to his name along with 16 possessions and seven marks.

The Moment

Melbourne took a 32-point lead into the final change with its fans allowing themselves to start looking into the next week. But the Hawks weren’t done with yet. Thanks to goals from Isaac Smith, Gunston and then Jarryd Roughead, the Demons buffer quickly shrunk to 12 points only 11 minutes into the final term. But the scare instead sparked the Dees into action and they halted the Hawthorn momentum with three goals in quick succession, two of which came from Jake Melksham. The night was theirs.

The Coach

"We had our chances throughout the course of the night, we just wasted chances at crucial patches. We just lacked the polish and composure at key points in the game and Melbourne are a good side, they have been for a fair period of time and they're playing some of their best footy right now.” – Clarkson

 

HAWTHORN   3.1   3.7   6.9   10.11 (71)
MELBOURNE  3.1   6.2  12.5   16.8 (104)

GOALS
Hawthorn: Gunston 3, Schoenmakers 2, Roughead 2, Worpel, Puopolo, Smith
Melbourne: T. McDonald 4, Weideman 2, Brayshaw 2, Melksham 2, Spargo 2, Petracca, Gawn, Neal-Bullen, Hannan 

BEST
Hawthorn: Gunston, Mirra, Howe, Shiels, Mitchell, Henderson
Melbourne: Viney, T.McDonald, Petracca, Jetta, Hibberd, Oliver 

INJURIES
Hawthorn: Mitchell (AC joint), Puopolo (hamstring)
Melbourne: Nil 

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Rosebury, Stevic, Nicholls

Official crowd: 90,152 at the MCG