Daniel Howe’s debut last Saturday saw him become Hawthorn’s 900th VFL-AFL player.

This landmark event came some 14 years after the debut of the 800th player, Tim Clarke, in Round 1 2001.

Of the eight previous milestone debutants in Hawthorn history Clarke’s 96-game career is the longest, something Howe will no doubt be keen to improve upon. The next highest number of games by a milestone debutant was the 25 played by 400th player Barry Griffiths. He made his debut in Round 1 1950, with a number of others including John Kennedy Snr. made his Hawthorn debut, but with the protocol being that debuts in the same game are listed in alphabetical order Kennedy is officially player number 401.

Whichever player becomes Hawthorn’s 901st debutant can certainly find plenty of good omens. As well as club legend Kennedy at 401, there was Jason Dunstall (debut number 701), 1970s triple Premiership player Alan Martello (601) and 1961 premiership player Cam McPherson (501).

(Note – some records have Jason Dunstall as Hawthorn’s 700th player, with the actual 700th player Steve Malaxos as the 701st. The confusion has been created by the fact that in 1985 Hawthorn’s Round 3 match was brought forward and played the week before Round 1. Thus Malaxos, who debuted in Round 3, actually made his debut 16 days before Dunstall who debuted on Easter Monday in Round 2.)

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Essendon’s loss in Dustin Fletcher’s 400th game means that Hawthorn’s Michael Tuck remains the only player to celebrate his 400th game with a win. The first player to reach 400 games was Kevin Bartlett in 1983, but on the day his Richmond team lost to Collingwood at the MCG by 10 points.

Seven years later, when Tuck played his 400th against North Melbourne, in Round 18 1990, the venue and margin were the same, but Hawthorn won the match – 15.18.108 to 14.14.98. A Friday night crowd of 44,627 saw Tuck put in a typical solid performance. Among his teammates Dean Anderson and Chris Wittman gathered plenty of possessions, while Jason Dunstall (4) and Dermott Brereton (3) led the goalkickers.

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Josh Gibson created a new record last Saturday, although it is probably one he did not want. By playing his 108th Hawthorn game without kicking a goal, the champion defender went past fellow backman Alf Hughes (107 games) as the owner of the longest goalless sequence from Hawthorn debut. The only other Hawthorn player to not register a goal in over 100 games was Cam McPherson (104). Gibson did register two AFL goals while playing for North Melbourne. He has certainly got closer to breaking his goal drought this season with two behinds against his name already in 2015.

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After a draw at Docklands in 2010, Hawthorn has won its last four games against St Kilda. In 2011, the Hawks overcame a 32 point quarter time deficit to win by 30 points, won by 35 points in 2012, followed with a 46 point win in 2013, before a 145 point demolition at the MCG in Round 7 last season.

Overall, the two clubs have met 151 times with the Hawks winning 78 and the Saints 71, plus two draws. Hawthorn won 20 consecutive games against St Kilda from 1979 to 1989, while the longest losing sequence was 11 from 1933 to 1940.

Hawthorn has been drawn to play St Kilda less than any other club in recent home and away seasons. 2007 is the only season since 2001 when the two clubs have met twice in the regular season, although they ended up playing twice in 2008 as they met in the Preliminary Final.

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60 years ago, in Round 10 1955, Hawthorn got to six wins by Round 10 for the just the second time in its League history with a 38 point win against St Kilda at Glenferrie. The Hawks won 12.9.81 to 6.7.43 with John Peck kicking 4 goals and Clayton ‘Candles’ Thompson 3. Boom recruit Graham Arthur continued his stellar debut season with 2 goals. Having beaten the Saints twice in 1954, this win meant Hawthorn had beaten them in three consecutive matches for the first time.

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Hawthorn’s Round 10 record is currently squared with 45 wins and 45 defeats. In the decade between 2000 and 2009, Round 10 was Hawthorn’s hoodoo round, with just one win, coming in 2007 when Hawthorn beat Port Adelaide at Football Park. Things improved in recent years with wins against Sydney (2010), Western Bulldogs (2011), North Melbourne (2012) and Melbourne (2013), before a loss to Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval last season.

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30 years ago, in Round 10 1985, 33 year-old Peter Knights turned back the clock with a stunning display at full-forward, taking 12 marks and kicking 9 goals on future ‘full back of the century’ Stephen Silvgani. Knights was the star of a 79 point win – 22.15.147 to 9.14.68. It was an important victory, as both clubs went into the game with 5-4 records, and at risk of losing touch with the leading teams. Apart from Knights, other good players for the Hawks were Terry Wallace, Rod Lester-Smith, Russell Morris, Richard Loveridge and Gary Buckenara.

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Peter Hudson holds the record for the highest number of goals by a Hawthorn player against St Kilda, kicking 12 at Glenferrie in Round 15 1971 in a match which was a preview of the season’s Grand Final. Lance Franklin holds the Round 10 record. His 13 against North Melbourne in 2012 surpassed the previous round record of 9, held jointly by Peter Knights (1985 – see above), Paul Hudson (1991) and Jason Dunstall (1998), against Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon respectively.