Hawthorn got its 2019 campaign off to the perfect start on Saturday as it defeated Adelaide by 32 points.
The Hawks were assigned a difficult task having to open their season in the fortress that is Adelaide Oval, but Alastair Clarkson’s men appeared unperturbed as they led at every change to send a resounding message to the competition.
We’ve taken a look at some of the talking points to come out of the Hawks’ Round 1 effort.
Read: "We've got to back it up" - Clarko
Adelaide Oval form
Since its first game at Adelaide Oval in 2014, Adelaide has owned a 71% winning rate at the venue. The Crows have ensured that it is one of the most feared grounds to travel to, with their one-eyed crowd only adding to the intimidation of the cauldron-like atmosphere.
But Hawthorn have once again proved an outlier in falling victim to this dominance. In the Hawks’ four visits to Adelaide Oval, they have returned with four premiership points on each occasion.
The Hawks remain the only side in the competition yet to have lost to the Crows at Adelaide Oval.
Worpel and O’Meara stand up
Much of the talk surrounding the Hawks in the lead-up to the season centred around the injury to Tom Mitchell. The reigning Brownlow Medallist was always going to leave a void, with fans wanting to know who would step up in his absence.
In the aftermath of the injury, much of the talk out of the Hawks camp revolved around the idea of not so much “replacing” him but multiple players stepping up their games instead.
That is exactly what fans saw on Saturday as James Worpel (27 disposals, three tackles and two goals) and Jaeger O’Meara (24 disposals, five tackles and two goals) were among the Hawks best.
In just the eighth game of his career, James Cousins was also influential through the midfield, recording 18 disposals, six tackles and two goals.
McEvoy and O’Meara mummified
On a lighter note, Ben McEvoy and Jaeger O’Meara wasted no time in having their heads bandaged up for the first time in 2019.
In his 98th game in the brown and gold, Big Boy seems to have had the doctors tend to his head in nearly 50% of these games*.
*This statistic is completely unfounded.
