Facing the newly-established Gold Coast for the first time, Hawthorn also came up against a familiar face in former premiership Hawk Campbell Brown.
Coming off a five-point loss to Geelong, the Hawks made five changes with David Hale, Rick Ladson, Isaac Smith, Max Bailey and Jordan Lisle all included of the trip to Launceston, while Jarryd Roughead headlined those left out of the side, missing through injury.
Read: Four Hawks in Team of the Week
QT: Sun Jared Brennan got the Gold Coast off to a perfect start, slotting the opening major from a set shot in what was an arm wrestle of a first term.
Hawk Shane Savage then got his side on the board with a running goal midway through the term, before Maverick Weller found the reply for the Suns.
But a goal to small forward Luke Breust and two to mature-age draftee Isaac Smith gave Hawthorn the advantage as they took a seven-point lead into the first break.
HT: It took until the 14-minute mark of the second term for either side to score, with Tom Lynch drawing the Suns within three points with a tight snap from the boundary.
Savage again managed to break the Hawks’ dry run with his second goal – this time evading a pair of opponents before kicking truly from long range – while Lance Franklin also found his first of the afternoon, extending the margin to 17 points.
3QT: A clever goal from livewire Hawk Cyril Rioli had the Hawks on the board early in the second half in what was a sign of things to come.
The Hawks piled on six goals to none for the quarter as Savage found a third, and soon a fourth, while skipper Luke Hodge also got in on the action.
Franklin found himself in the umpire’s book for a high elbow on young Sun Weller, while forward pair Breust and Rioli joined the Hawks’ multiple goalkickers for the afternoon, with the lead suddenly out to 50 points.
FT: Tall forward Lynch again got the Suns going but the Hawks continued to prove too good, with Sam Mitchell (38 disposals) in particular running rampant through the middle of the ground.
The versatile Michael Osbourne found the big sticks, with Franklin following suit minutes later.
Ruckman Daniel Gorringe pegged one back for the Suns, before Lynch also landed a third, but despite holding a comfortable lead, the Hawks would run the game out impressively, kicking five of the last seven goals.
Two more to Breust saw him finish with four for the day, while Franklin also bagged a third as the Hawks maintained their status as one of competition’s top-four sides, running out 71-point victors.
HAWTHORN 4.3 6.8 12.10 19.15 129
GOLD COAST 3.2 4.3 4.8 8.10 58
GOALS
Hawthorn: Breust 4, Savage 4, Franklin 3, Rioli 2, Smith 2, Hale, Hodge, Osbourne, Suckling
Gold Coast: Lynch 3, Brennan 2, Weller, Day, Gorringe
Umpires: McBurney, Rosebury, Sully
Official crowd: 16,377 at York Park
