In a Tweet

The Rundown

Hoping to make amends for the 86-point drubbing they suffered at the hands of the Suns earlier in the year, the Hawks again found themselves staring down the barrel of a heavy loss.

While Gold Coast led by modest margins of seven and 15 points at the first two changes, the margin ballooned out to 43 points late in the third term before goals to Isaac Smith and Ben McEvoy gave the Hawks a glimmer of hope.

A pair of goals to Tim O’Brien to start the last quarter saw the Hawks surge back into contention, before two more to Jack Gunston, including a tight snap from the boundary, brought the Hawks to within striking distance with the margin sitting at 9 points.

But that would be as close as the Hawks would get, with the Suns steadying through late majors to Ben Ainsworth and Peter Wright to secure a 16-point win at the MCG.

For the Hawks, Gunston finished with a season-high five goals, while Tom Mitchell was again prolific through the midfield with 39 disposals.

The Star

Former Suns captain Gary Ablett ran amok through the middle of the ground with a dominant 37-disposal, two-goal performance that earned him a full three Brownlow votes.

The dual Brownlow medallist not only generated plenty play for the Suns with seven clearances, but piled on the defensive pressure as well, amassing a team-high ten tackles.

The Moment

With the Hawks only nine points behind and more than seven minutes remaining in the game, Sun Aaron Hall sent a high ball deep inside 50 where teammate Ben Ainsworth was able to take a clutch mark after jostling with Taylor Duryea for best position.

Kicking from close range, Ainsworth’s shot on goal went wide before the umpire’s whistle was blown and a 50 metre penalty awarded after defender Kaiden Brand was ruled to have infringed on the mark.

Ainsworth made no mistake the second time around, giving the Suns the breathing room they required to hold on for victory.

The Coach

"Our polish with the ball wasn't quite the standard you need against Gold Coast. We had a really, really young side this afternoon."

  • Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson

 

HAWTHORN      2.3    4.4    7.6       12.7 (79)
GOLD COAST     3.4    6.7    11.14   13.17 (95)

GOALS
Hawthorn: Gunston 5, O'Brien 2, Henderson, Mitchell, Stewart, Smith, McEvoy
Gold Coast: Lynch 2, Ablett 2, Matera 2, Wright 2, Barlow, Lemmens, Lyons, Martin, Ainsworth

BEST
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Gunston, Hartung, Smith, Burgoyne, Henderson
Gold Coast: Ablett, Lyons, Barlow, Witts, Swallow, May  

INJURIES
Hawthorn: Gibson (adductor), Hodge (groin) replaced in the selected side by Stewart
Gold Coast: Miller (illness) replaced in the selected side by Lonergan

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Fisher, Deboy, Chamberlain, Meredith

Official crowd: 27,392 at the MCG