Reflecting on all the topical milestones and achievements, past and present, as we head into Round 20 of the 2018 season. This is 'Footy Flashbacks'....

We’ve always ended up being a happy team at Hawthorn when drawn to play Essendon in Round 20. 

The two clubs have met five times previously in Round 20 and the Hawks have won all five games, including recording their biggest ever win against the Bombers.

Read: Last time we met Essendon

The Round 20 sequence against Essendon began in 1972, when Hawthorn won at Waverley 15.16.106 to 12.15.87, setting up the win with a 6.5 to 0.5 opening term. The standout performer was Michael Moncrieff, who kicked 10 goals on his 20^th birthday in just his 16^th game. It culminated a three-week period in which he kicked 24 goals. Peter Crimmins chipped in with 3 goals. 

At Windy Hill, in Round 20 1979, Hawthorn brightened a disappointing season with a four- point win over an Essendon team headed for the Finals. It is rare to be able to state definitively that one player single-handedly won a game of football, but it can be said about this match. Not only did Michael Tuck have 34 disposals and boot four of the team’s 10 goals, but he also kicked the winning goal and took an amazing match saving mark in the dying seconds.  

In Round 20 1992, the Hawks thrashed Essendon by 160 points at the MCG. This remained the club record winning margin against any opponent until 2011, and the score of 32.24.216 is still the third highest in club history. Remarkably, Hawthorn kicked eight goals in every quarter, an unprecedented achievement. Jason Dunstall kicked 12 goals, but only got two Brownlow votes, as the three votes went to Tony Hall who had 34 disposals and kicked three goals.

Under first-year coach Alastair Clarkson, in Round 20 2005 Hawthorn won its first game against Essendon for eight years. Even more notable is the fact that it is the only game in Hawthorn’s VFL-AFL history when the jumpers the team wore did not include any brown or gold. To celebrate heritage round the Hawks wore a royal blue jumper, with white and red braces, replicating one of the club’s pre-VFA jumpers. Hawthorn won 17.15.117 to 16.8.104 with the best players including Trent Croad, Shane Crawford, Luke Hodge and Danny Jacobs. 

in Round 20 2006, Hawthorn produced a stunning first half score of 16.7.103 to open-up a 61-point half-time lead against Essendon. The young 2006 Hawks team were unable to sustain that scoring pace in the second half and ended up with just an 18-point margin at the finish - 19.10.124 to 15.16.106. Still Hawthorn had beaten Essendon twice in the one season for the first time since 1991 and there was much cause for optimism as the stars of the future were very much to the fore, with both Sam Mitchell and Luke Hodge accumulating 34 disposals and Jarryd Roughead kicking four goals.

Read: Who's the Hawks' most improved?

Isaac Smith last Sunday broke the Hawthorn record for most appearances in the number 16 jumper. Smith has now played 175 games wearing number 16, edging past Terry Wallace who played 174 games in his illustrious career from 1978 to 1986. Both Wallace and Smith wore 16 from the start of their Hawthorn careers and both are triple Premiership players.

Between Wallace and Smith, the most games in number 16 were 89 by Andy Gowers (1988-94) and 81 by Nick Ries (2002-06). Earlier prominent number 16s in Hawthorn history included Leo Murphy, Lance Wilkinson and Norm Bussell. 

Smith now joins teammates Jarryd Roughead, Grant Birchall, Luke Breust, Paul Puopolo and the recently-retired Cyril Rioli as games record-holders for their current numbers. Taylor Duryea holds the record for his previous number (41) and Breust holds the record for two numbers, with his 17 games in the number 47 which he wore in his debut season of 2011 also being a record. 

Ryan Schoenmakers has joined Rod Olsson with the equal second most games (116) in number 25. He still has a fair way to go to catch the first-place holder, which is John Hendrie with 197. 

Overall, Hawthorn and Essendon have played each other 161 times, with the Hawks winning 64 and losing 97. Hawthorn has won eight of the last 10 encounters, the only blemishes being the two-point defeat at the MCG in Round 2 2015 and the 25-point one in the opening round of last season. 

Hawthorn has played 51 matches in Round 20, winning 29 and losing 22. The Hawks won in Round 20 for six consecutive seasons from 2010 to 2015, before suffering defeats by Melbourne and Richmond in the last two seasons.

The first Round 20 was played in 1945 to provide extra games to compensate for those lost during the war. It has been a permanent part of the fixture since 1968. In 1945, 1968 and 1969 it was the final round of the home and away season.

20 years ago, in Round 20 1998, Hawthorn’s late season revival continued with a 35-point victory over Brisbane Lions at the Gabba – 13.16.94 to 7.17.59. Shane Crawford was BOG, ably supported in the midfield by Craig Treleven and Jon Hassall, while Daniel Chick kicked four goals.

This week Hawthorn plays on Saturday 4 August. That date was special day for one player 34 years ago. Playing Carlton at Princes Park on Saturday 4 August 1984, Hawthorn began well, but the Blues gradually got on top to lead by 15 points early in the final term. Enter Peter Curran, who proceeded to kick five last quarter goals out of a team total of 10 for the term as the Hawks won by 32 points.

Two of the top three goalkicking performances versus Essendon came in Round 20, with Jason Dunstall’s 12 in 1992 and Michael Moncrieff’s 10 in 1972. The other big bag against the Bombers was 11 by Leigh Matthews in Round 3 1973. The only big Round 20 haul,against an opponent other than Essendon, was Dunstall’s 11 versus Collingwood in 1990.