Unbeaten after the opening seven rounds, the Hawks came up against a Port Adelaide side in Launceston with just the three wins to their name so far in season 2008.
Wingman Chance Bateman made a return to the side from injury, while Luke Hodge missed with a hamstring complaint as the Hawks fought to gain top spot on the AFL ladder.
QT: The Power got off to a flying start with forward Brett Ebert nailing the opening goal of the game within the first minute.
Skipper Warren Tredrea and half forward David Rodan catapulted the side ahead, along with a second from Ebert, to give the side 22-point lead mid-way through the term.
Lance Franklin hit back for the Hawks, kicking two straight goals to bring the margin back to 11 points, but it was Treadrea who responded with two more of his own, as Shaun Burgoyne made it a seven-goal quarter for the Power, who took a 32-point advantage into the first break.
HT: After a horror first quarter, things looked to get even worse for the Hawks as Brent Guerra left the field with a hamstring injury before Port forward Daniel Motlop scored his first major.
However Franklin’s impressive 2008 form appeared to be continuing as he landed his third, while a fourth came on the back of goals to forward partner Jarryd Roughead and midfielder Brad Sewell, with the Hawks finally clicking into gear as the margin shrunk to 18 points.
Burgoyne was proving dominant through the middle of the ground for the Power, as the side piled on two more, but the Hawks were able to find the answers – this time via livewire Cyril Rioli and Sewell – with the deficit sitting at 17 points at half time.
3QT: Roughead restarted things nicely for the Hawks with his second major, while it was the likes of Sewell and Jordan Lewis who swayed the battle in the midfield.
Further goals to Motlop and key tall Justin Westhoff saw the Hawks drift back to 27 points behind, but from there the Hawks took things up a notch, kicking six of the next seven goals.
Two to Franklin saw him stretch his haul to six, with a dribbling goal stealing the Hawks the lead, while a third to Roughead pushed the margin to seven points heading into the final term.
FT: A stark contrast to the previous quarters saw only three goals scored for the term.
Michael Osbourne broke the deadlock mid-way through the quarter, giving the Hawks the edge, before Ebert pegged one back for Port as a tight finish loomed.
But the match was sealed when Williams went back kicked truly late in the term, handing the Hawks a 15-point win.
Hawthorn 2.2 8.7 15.9 17.15 (117)
Port Adelaide 7.4 11.6 14.8 15.12 (102)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Franklin 6, Roughead 3, Osborne 2, Sewell 2, Williams, Young, McGlynn, Rioli
Port Adelaide: Tredrea 4, Ebert 3, Motlop 2, Gray 2, Thomson, Shaun Burgoyne, Rodan, Westhoff
BEST
Hawthorn: Sewell, Mitchell, Franklin, Lewis, Bateman, Brown
Port Adelaide: S Burgoyne, Pearce, P Burgoyne, K Cornes, Gray, Rodan.
INJURIES
Hawthorn: B Guerra (hamstring)
Port Adelaide: None
Reports: B McGlynn (Hawthorn) reported by field umpire M Nicholls for making front-on contact to K Cornes (Port Adelaide) in the second quarter.
Umpires: Kennedy, Nicholls, Wenn
Official crowd: 15,682 at Aurora Stadium
