Reflecting on all the topical milestones and achievements, past and present, as we head into Round 6 of the 2018 season. This is 'Footy Flashbacks'....
Ten years ago, Cyril Rioli received a Rising Star nomination for a Round 6 game which included a spectacular goal from the left forward pocket at the City end of the MCG.
It came in the Hawks sixth consecutive victory to start the 2008 season, but the team made achieving the win harder with inaccurate kicking for goal, beating Richmond – 14.22.106 to 15.4.94. Jarryd Roughead booted five goals but Rioli, in just his sixth AFL game, stole the show.
Rewind: Hawks pinch victory as Rioli fires
This round marks the 15th anniversary of Hawthorn’s last game at Princes Park.
In Round 6 2003, the Hawks beat Carlton by 11 points – 11.8.74 to 9.9.63 – in front of a crowd of 27,725. Joel Smith kicked the sealer and Jade Rawlings was BOG, with a series of saving marks in defence in the final quarter. Another noteworthy aspect of the match was that future Premiership player Rick Ladson made his debut.
Hawthorn played 230 games at Princes Park between 1925 and 2003 recording 133 wins, 96 losses and one draw. The venue was the Hawks’ home ground from 1974 to 1991, an 18-season period in which the club won a remarkable seven Premierships!
Luke Breust’s five goals versus North Melbourne took him to a career Hawthorn tally of 320 goals, joining Michael Tuck in equal 10th place on the club’s all-time top goal-scorers list.
Last Sunday, Hawthorn reached half-time without registering a behind for one of just a handful of times in the club’s VFL-AFL history. The score of 3.0 against North Melbourne was the first half-time Hawthorn score without a behind since 8.0 versus West Coast in 2002 and prior to that a game against Richmond in 1995 saw the Hawks 4.0 at the long interval.
There was one famous game against Essendon in 1949 when Hawthorn did not record a single behind in the whole game, progressing from 3.0 at half-time to a final score of 7.0.42. Hawthorn has never won a game in which it had not registered a behind by half-time. The closest to victory was in Round 12 1972, when a half-time score of 8.0 gave the Hawks a 16-point lead against Melbourne, but the Demons fought back to win by a solitary point, after a second half in which a suddenly inaccurate Hawthorn kicked 3.9.
The most recent instance of a Hawthorn opponent not kicking a behind until half-time was Gold Coast in 2014, the Suns being 5.0, and then 6.0 at three quarter time, before finally registering behinds in the final term, losing to the Hawks by 53 points.
Hawthorn and St Kilda have met three times previously in Launceston. The first clash was in Round 19 2009 when the Hawks lost to the ladder-leading Saints 10.14.74 to 7.7.49, with Ben McGlynn Hawthorn’s only multiple goalkicker with two. The attendance at the game was 20,011, the second highest ever for a Hawthorn game in Launceston.
The second meeting was in Round 4 2016 when Hawthorn won by three points – 13.9.87 to 13.6.84. Sam Mitchell was outstanding with 44 disposals. Last season, the two teams met at University of Tasmania Stadium in Round 6 with the Saints recording a 75-point win – 19.16.130 to 8.7.55.
Overall, the clubs have met 154 times with the Hawks winning 80 and the Saints 72, plus two draws. Hawthorn has been drawn to play St Kilda less than any other club in recent home and away seasons. 2007 is the only season since 2001 when the two clubs have met twice in the regular season, although they ended up playing twice in 2008 as they met in the Preliminary Final. The clubs will meet twice in 2018, with this week’s game to be followed by one at Docklands in Round 22.
The Hawks won three consecutive Round 6 games from 2012 to 2014 before defeats against GWS in 2014 and 2015 and the loss to the Saints last season. The past wo defeats have both been by 75 points. Overall in Round 6 Hawthorn has recorded 39 wins and 50 defeats in 89 matches (with byes in 1942, 1943, 1994 and 2011).
Five years ago, in Round 6 2013, Hawthorn had a rare success against Adelaide at Football Park, defeating the Crows 13.11.89 to 11.12.78. Jack Gunston kicked 3 goals against his former club, while Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell were both outstanding with 29 disposals each.
Another of the rare wins against Adelaide at Football Park came 25 years ago, in Round 6 1993. The Hawks travelled to Adelaide for a Friday night encounter determined to record a win after consecutive losses to keep intact a proud 12-year record of not losing three consecutive games.
Playing in front of a packed crowd of 46,689, Hawthorn trailed by 15 points at quarter-time and conceded the first goal of second term, but then produced a stunning 8.0 in the remainder of the quarter to lead by 18 points at half-time. The Hawks maintained their lead in the second half to win 16.9.105 to 12.16.88.
Jasom Dunstall finished with 9 goals, while others in the best were Darren Jarman, Ben Allan and Paul Cooper, and captain Gary Ayres produced a couple of pieces of his classic “good driving in heavy traffic”. Another noteworthy aspect of the game was that Mark Graham made his debut but, in a sign of how much the game has changed in the past 25 years, he sat on the two-man interchange bench all night, until finally being given a run when there were only two minutes left and the game was won.
40 years ago, in Round 6 1978, the Hawks produced a nine-goal final term to clinch a 31-point victory against Princes Park co-tenant Carlton, winning 24.13.157 to 19.12.126. Leigh Matthews was at his brilliant best with 7 goals, ably supported by Michael Moncrieff with 6 and Kelvin Moore with a career-high 3 goals. John Hendrie and Norm Goss were the leading possession-getters and they also contributed a couple of goals apiece.
Peter Hudson holds the record for the highest number of goals by a Hawthorn player against St Kilda, kicking 12 at Glenferrie in Round 15 1971 in a match which was a preview of the season’s Grand Final. Jason Dunstall holds the Hawthorn record for Round 6 kicking nine goals in both 1992 and 1993 (against Collingwood and Adelaide respectively), a tally equaled by Lance Franklin (against Essendon in 2007).
