Hawks claim 10-point win

FIVE goals from Cyril Rioli have helped Hawthorn withstand a fierce challenge from Collingwood, the reigning premiers recording their fifth straight win with a thrilling 10-point victory at the MCG on Friday night.

The Hawks' 15.11 (101) to 12.19 (91) victory was a club-record eighth in a row against Collingwood – they last lost to the Magpies in the 2011 preliminary final – and ensures they will sit one game clear in fourth spot at the end of the round.

Rioli, who was outstanding all night, set up Luke Breust's match-winning goal when he stripped the ball off a Magpie opponent on the wing and fired off a quick handball that started the scoring chain with less than two minutes remaining.

Where Hawthorn won the teams' previous seven encounters by an average margin of 42 points, this time it had to drag itself off the canvas when Collingwood hit the front in the final term, and could also count itself lucky that the Pies could not land a knockout blow in front of goal during a dominant third quarter.

The Pies' kicked 2.9 in the third term – Alex Fasolo kicked 1.3 – and seemed to have shot themselves in the foot when the Hawks led by nine points at three-quarter time.

But the Magpies finally found their kicking boots in the last term, kicking the opening three goals of the quarter to take a nine-point lead at the 10-minute mark.

As champion teams do, the Hawks hit back, kicking the next two goals, through Rioli (after Travis Varcoe was reported for forceful front-on contact against the Hawks' star) and substitute Matt Suckling, to get back out to a five-point lead.

The Pies then blew two more chances to hit the lead, with Jesse White missing a set shot and Tim Broomhead missing a snap, before Breust sealed the result.

The shock of Phil Walsh's tragic death on Friday morning hung over the game, with both teams paying tribute to the Adelaide coach by eschewing club banners and songs when they ran on to the ground and observing a minute's silence before the opening bounce.

Hawthorn's theme song was not played after the final siren either and, in a touching moment, both teams formed a circle of honour in the middle of the ground for some time.

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said after the match that he had been "really impressed" with Collingwood's performance and thought it was a team on the rise.

"It was an arm-wrestle all night. They didn't allow us to play the game that we wanted to play. We'd like to think we didn't allow them to play the game on their terms either," Clarkson said.

"Two really good sides going at each other. They're on the march, the Pies.

"I think what they've done over the last couple of years is starting to pay dividends for them. They're going to be a really tough side in the months and years to come."

Rioli's best-on-ground performance was timely given the Hawks' attack was missing sidelined spearhead Jarryd Roughead.

Jordan Lewis (36 possessions) and Sam Mitchell (34) were typically prolific through the midfield for the Hawks, while Liam Shiels (29 and two goals) was also influential, while Ben Stratton shut down Pies dangerman Jamie Elliott.

The Pies' loss was their second straight and sees them fall one game outside the top four, but they did their reputation no harm and appear capable of challenging the competition's best teams in September after narrowly losing to Fremantle last week.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley lamented the fact his team had not taken its chances late in the game.

"We scored from stoppages, they scored from turnovers, there was a bit of the sweet and sour, chalk and cheese that was going on and the scoreboard was tight all night and [the siren] went at the wrong time again," Buckley said.

"All the game comes down to is doing the basics really well. So nine points up going inside 50 (we) really had an unpressured kick inside 50 from Jordie De Goey (and there were) a couple of contests down the line that they were able to mark and go back the other way and score from.

"So there were just little things, little things that we need to get right, basics that we need to get right, whether it's disposal, whether it's sticking a tackle at the right time.

"We're doing a lot right and we'll continue to take the lessons from it."

Captain Scott Pendlebury was outstanding for the Magpies with a game-high 37 possessions, 10 clearances, 10 tackles and five score assists, and was well supported in the midfield by Steele Sidebottom (30) and Jack Crisp (28).

Marley Williams also gave the Pies plenty of rebound from defence, while Travis Cloke had the better of Brian Lake with 11 marks (four contested) but missed the chance to play the hero with an inaccurate 1.4 return.

The Hawks had dominated the Magpies in their past seven clashes, but Collingwood signalled that it was up for the fight in the first half.

The Pies won contested possession 34-25 in the first term, and it was only the Hawks' class by foot that enabled the reigning premiers to take a three-point lead into the first break.

Hawthorn looked set to take control of the game when it kicked three straight goals to lead by 17 points at the 12-minute mark of the second term, but Collingwood kicked three of the quarter's last four goals to go into half-time just four points down, setting the tone for what was to follow.

COLLINGWOOD 3.5 7.7 9.16 12.19 (91)
HAWTHORN 4.2 8.5 12.7 15.11 (101)

GOALS
Collingwood: White 2, Swan 2, De Goey, Broomhead, Williams, Cloke, Adams, Crisp, Fasolo, Blair
Hawthorn: Rioli 5, Breust 3, Shiels 2, Gunston 2, Schoenmakers, Smith, Suckling

BEST
Collingwood: Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Varcoe, Crisp, Cloke, Williams
Hawthorn: Rioli, Lewis, Mitchell, Hill, Shiels, Stratton, Smith

INJURIES
Collingwood: Nil
Hawthorn: Breust (groin), Smith (eye)

SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Darcy Moore replaced by Jarryd Blair at three-quarter time
Hawthorn: Matt Spangher replaced by Matt Suckling at three-quarter time

Reports: Travis Varcoe (Collingwood) for forceful front-on contact against Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn) in the final quarter.

Umpires: Rosebury, Jeffery, Mollison

Official crowd: 75,880 at the MCG