A quarter-by-quarter breakdown of how the Hawks intraclub went down on Wednesday.
Quarter 1
After a long build-up, the Hawthorn intraclub finally got underway in perfect conditions at Waverley Park on Wednesday.
Harry Morrison shook his nerves with two early touches in the opening moments coming off the bench-side wing.
Morrison’s opponent on the wing, Isaac Smith was also notably busy early and the 30-year-old kicked an opening quarter goal to reward his efforts.
Reigning All Australian Jack Gunston’s characteristic workrate saw him take three early marks across the midfield including one strong contested mark against two defenders which thrilled the crowd.
Former Saint Darren Minchington showed some crafty work to also get on the scoreboard early, as his side dominated the early parts of the scratch match.
Looking both smooth and powerful, Jaeger O’Meara was the most dominant midfielder on the ground through the opening term as he proved too classy at times for his opposition.
Under attack having to defend multiple opposition forward entries, Ben Stratton cut off multiple opposition entries to curb the scoreboard damage done on his side.
While, at the other end of the ground, Jackson Ross made the most of limited opportunities early to convert a set shot late in the term.
The experience of Shaun Burgoyne and Jarryd Roughead shone through with both spending the majority of their time in the front half, generating scoring options for their team.
The quarter finished with an impressive long-range goal from Luke Breust to highlight a high-scoring opening term
Read: Midfielders primed - O'Meara
Quarter 2
Debutant hopeful Dylan Moore joined the scorers list in the early part of the second quarter as he sent home a major from directly in front.
James Cousins was busy in his characteristic laborious style. The third-year midfielder kicked a skilful goal to put an exclamation mark on a prominent opening half.
The new rule of having strictly six defenders, six midfielders and six forwards at every centre bounce was also influential, with centre clearances becoming easier to generate and more damaging when they went inside 50.
Forwards were also revelling in the extra space the new rule afforded.
Meanwhile, for the other side, O’Meara was continuing to run rampant, kicking a goal against the run of a play - his side’s first of the quarter.
Mitch Lewis showed a glimpse of what he is capable of, taking a strong mark before slotting a set shot from 55 metres out with ease.
The ruck battle between Ben McEvoy and Jon Ceglar was entertaining with both nbig men covering the ground well and getting involved at ground level with strong follow-up work.
A clever kick inside fifty from Smith found Gunston for his first goal of the game.
Roughead continued to spend stints inside the midfield as he has done throughout the summer. His bigger body and clean hands inside the contest proved difficult to manage for his opposition.
After a rather one-sided game in the first quarter, the momentum had somewhat steadied in the second term as both sides were getting their scoring opportunities.
Numerous defensive acts from Stratton were telling for his side, while a long-range goal from James Sicily to end the quarter showed he hasn’t forgot how to kick it over the summer.
Watch: Sam Mitchell's coaching notes
Quarter 3
Burgoyne was rewarded for his tireless work across the half forward line with his first goal of the evening in the early stages of the third term.
Morrison and Smith continued to go head-to-head on the wing, Smith was almost daring Morrison to keep up with his renowned endurance ability but the new number one was coming to the party.
Morrison got one back on his older opponent’s earlier major with a classy left foot goal midway through the term.
Lewis rotated through the ruck where he looked to work into the game after a patchy first half.
Tim O’Brien looked more comfortable in defence the longer the game went, with his strong foot skills out of the back half a stand-out.
Paul Puopolo spent time through the midfield, where he looked powerful and quickly had an influence on the clearances due to his dynamic movement.
Poppy set up Burgoyne’s second goal of the quarter after one of these impressive bursts from the middle.
Quarter 4
After both having strong impacts throughout the first three quarters, Gunston and O’Meara both sat out of the final term for management reasons.
Worpel created one of the highlights of the game as he worked his way out of traffic to slot a 50-metre goal under immense pressure.
Puopolo continued to have an impact through the middle, becoming more and more noticeable as the game wore on.
Kaiden Brand was also a fast finisher for his side on the last line of defence, taking multiple strong contested marks to quell numerous attacks in a low-scoring final term.
