Essendon jumped Hawthorn in the opening quarter of their clash on Saturday.
The Bombers kicked four first term goals to the Hawks’ two before remaining seven-point leaders going into the main break.
John Worsfold’s side was able to deny the Hawks their preferred style of game, limiting the brown and gold to just 28 marks in the first half.
To put this into context, before Round 7, Hawthorn were averaging 87.3 marks per game.
The decreased marking numbers were emblematic of the Hawks, the fourth-highest scoring side this season, managing just four goals to half-time.
But, their fate would change across the rest of the afternoon - with the Hawks climbing in 'marking' numbers to soar above their average.
Read: Five talking points - Hawthorn v Essendon
Across the competition, Hawthorn isn’t known as a side that registers high marking numbers, ranking 12th in the statistic.
What marking does do is allow the Hawks to control the pace of the game, especially given their high skill level, where they rank fifth league-wide for disposal efficiency.
Once the Hawks own the ball, they are able to pick apart their opposition’s defence and hit the scoreboard.
James Sicily is a good example of this concept.
Of every player to have played at least five games this season, only two players are averaging more marks than Sicily’s eight per game.
And while his aerial supremacy has been noticeable, the 23-year old’s ability to find the ball and use it well has been just as outstanding.
The forward-cum-defender is averaging 25 possessions per game at an efficiency rate of 82.4%.
Essendon’s Brendan Goddard is the only other player across the league to be averaging more than 25 disposals at a disposal efficiency of at least 82% (25.7 disposals at 84.4%).
In the second half, the Hawks recorded 64 marks to take their final tally to 92.
The drastic change in this area was reflected on the scoreboard, where the Hawks notched nine second-half goals from their 17 scoring shots to Essendon’s five from their seven attempts.
