1. Battle of the breeze
The split second he saw the coin land in his favour on Saturday afternoon, Hawthorn’s Bradley Hill could scarcely raise his right hand quickly enough to point out the city end of Aurora Stadium. Given the howling wind blowing that way the decision was hardly surprising, but Hawthorn’s inability to capitalise on their advantage during the first term definitely was. At the first break, the Hawks had posted three goals, but held a lead of just five points over the dogged Suns who had shown signs of genuine intent despite being tipped by all-and-sundry to provide little more than match practice for the hungry Hawks. Even more puzzling than the quarter-time margin was the fact Gold Coast had matched Hawthorn’s 11 forward entries despite kicking into the teeth of the gale.
2. Third term turnaround
Following a tight second quarter that Hawthorn again won three goals to two, the margin had swelled to 14 points in favour of the home side at the main break – but there were still murmurings around Aurora Stadium as to why it was taking the Hawks so long to bury the Suns. Tom Lynch had gone forward to boot the first two goals of the second term and give Gold Coast a narrow lead, but that was to be it until Charlie Dixon kicked his first goal late in the third term – and by then the Hawks had piled on eight majors and held a match-winning lead. Their six third-quarter majors came in quick time and better reflected the kind of domination that had been anticipated leading in to the contest.
3. The curse continues for Gold Coast
While it was already looking like the Suns couldn’t take a trick in 2015, young midfielder Jack Martin confirmed it for everyone by injuring himself within minutes of the opening. Having outfoxed Hawk defender Josh Gibson in a boundary-line contest, Martin hobbled to the bench and didn’t return to the fray before being replaced by Brandon Matera moments later. Conjecture swirled as to the nature of the damage, with initial reports suggesting Martin had aggravated the ankle injury that has plagued him during the past month or so. But a tell-tale ice pack was soon applied to the youngster’s hamstring, indicating a ‘fresh’ injury – and one that sees the 20-year-old become just the latest talented midfielder on the club’s crippling injury list.
4. Breust’s milestone day
For a 2014 All Australian and one of the most reliable kicks at goal in the AFL, Luke Breust manages to get the job done without too many bells and whistles. The former rookie-listed product of the NSW-ACT U18s racked up his 100-game milestone against the Suns on Saturday and, as usual, was in the thick of Hawthorn’s forward play and chimed in with three handy goals. With the wind at his back during the opening term, Breust received what looked like a gift in the form of an early free kick to boot his first and when the second came soon after you could have been forgiven for thinking it would be a big day out for the 24-year-old. As it was, Gold Coast’s small defenders did a reasonable job of minding Breust for much of the afternoon, keeping the goalsneak to three goals and 14 disposals.
5. Caught on the wrong side
For a player already under the pump following some questionable disposal by foot during last week’s loss to the Swans, Hawthorn’s Matt Suckling had to endure an unsettling groan from the partisan Hawks crowd midway through the third quarter on Saturday. Having surprised almost everyone – perhaps even himself – by snapping a second-quarter goal with his right foot, Suckling’s obvious ‘left-sidedness’ came back to haunt him after half-time when he failed to use his non-preferred right foot to make a pass inside 50, instead dribbling a timid, aimless ball off the side of his left boot, much to the chagrin of everyone in brown and gold. Having been left out after last week’s loss to Sydney, Suckling was only brought back in to cover the late withdrawal of Jordan Lewis to shoulder soreness. While he collected 28 disposals at 75% efficiency for the afternoon, Suckling might be one Hawk still feeling slightly nervous ahead of selection for next week’s match against St Kilda.
