Reflecting on all the topical milestones and achievements, past and present, as we head into Round 2. This is 'Footy Flashbacks'....
This Sunday, Hawthorn will be trying to win the opening two games in consecutive seasons for the first time in more than three decades.
Having beaten Collingwood and Geelong in Rounds 1 and 2 last season, a win against the Bulldogs will mean a pair of Hawk victories to start consecutive seasons for the first time since 1986-87. Those years both began with Round 1 wins against Carlton, followed by victories against North Melbourne (1986) and Richmond (1987) in Round 2.
In the intervening 30 years, the only seasons when Hawthorn won the first two matches of the season were 1993, 2001, 2008 and 2014.
Shaun Burgoyne has become the second oldest player to ever represent Hawthorn.
When he played at the Adelaide Oval last Saturday, Burgoyne was 36 years, 153 days, which makes him older than previous second-placed Jim Jackson. Jackson was 36 years, 108 days when he played his final Hawthorn game in Round 14 1926.
Burgoyne still has a way to go if he wants to become the oldest Hawthorn player, as Michael Tuck was 38 years, 96 days when he captained the Hawks in the 1991 Grand Final.
It was good to see the new Hawthorn away jumper take up where its 1933 inspiration, the ‘mustard pots’ jumper, left off. Saturday’s win against Adelaide was certainly a worthy follow-up to the memorable final game of 1933.
Hawthorn entered Round 18 1933, in 12th and last position on the ladder, but had the opportunity to get off the bottom if it could beat 11th placed Essendon at Glenferrie. Hawthorn won by five points – 10.9.69 to 8.16.64 – and consigned Essendon to the wooden spoon.
When Harry Morrison took to the Adelaide Oval wearing number one last Saturday, it was the first time the number had been seen in action in a Hawthorn game since Max Bailey wore it in Round 22 2009. This meant it was absent for a total of 219 games
Bailey had played four games in 2006 wearing number 36, but then required two knee reconstructions in 2007 and 2008. He was given the number one for the 2009 season and made it back into the Senior team for the final two games of the season. However, early in the Round 22 clash with Essendon, he injured his knee again necessitating a third reconstruction.
The number one has been worn in four Hawthorn Premierships: by Les Kaine (1961), Norm Goss (1978), Ken Judge (1983) and Ray Jencke (1991). Kaine and Jencke have been the only players to reach 100 games wearing the jumper. As most readers would be aware, Morrison has been given the honour of wearing the jumper in recognition of his connection
Watching a Hawthorn home game at the MCG against the Western Bulldogs may seem a bit unfamiliar as it is eight years since the last one. In fact, this Sunday’s match will only be the fourth time in his 15 seasons in charge that Alastair Clarkson will have coached the Hawks in a home MCG game against the Bulldogs, with his time in charge seeing four home games against the Bulldogs in Launceston, one at Docklands and six seasons without a Hawthorn home game versus the Bulldogs. There have been two MCG Finals between the clubs in the Clarkson era, with the Hawks winning in 2008 and the Bulldogs in 2016.
Hawthorn has won 10 of its last 11 games against the Bulldogs, with the one blemish being the 2016 Semi Final.
Hawthorn won eight consecutive games against the Western Bulldogs from 2010 to 2016, the winning sequence started and ended with thrilling three-point victories, at the MCG in 2010 and at Docklands in 2016. There have been victories at Docklands in the last two seasons, by nine points in Round 23 2017, and by 63 points in Round 16 last season.
Overall, the Hawks hold a narrow lead in the head-to-head history between the two clubs, with 83 victories, 76, defeats and two draws.
Round 2 has historically been one of the Hawthorn’s poorer rounds, with 39 wins, one draw and 54 losses. The round has certainly had its gloomy moments in years ending in 9, with losses in 1969, 1979, 1999 and 2009.
30 years ago, in Round 2 1989, Hawthorn bounced back from a Round 1 loss to Collingwood to record a 69-point win against North Melbourne at Waverley – 21.15.141 to 11.6.72. The Hawks trailed by seven at quarter-time and led by only two goals at half-time, before producing a dominant 11.13 to 3.4 second half.
Gary Buckenara had 35 disposals, and kicked three goals, but did not manage a Brownlow vote. Dean Anderson also had 35 disposals, while John Platten had 31. Both Peter Curran and Jason Dunstall booted four goals. Alastair Clarkson gathered 19 disposals in the defeated Kangaroos team.
Jason Dunstall holds the Hawthorn individual goal-kicking record against the Western Bulldogs with 14 goals in Round 19 1996. He also holds the Round 2 record, kicking nine twice – in 1988 versus Richmond and in 1991 against Sydney.
