Reflecting on all the topical milestones and achievements, past and present, as we head into Round 2 of the 2018 season. This is 'Footy Flashbacks'....
If Hawthorn can defeat Geelong on Monday, it will deliver the club’s 200th victory at the MCG.
This would be particularly appropriate as Hawthorn’s first win at the MCG came in the same round exactly 80 years ago, in Round 2 1938.
Hawthorn had lost its first 10 games at the MCG, so the 1938 victory against Melbourne was particularly sweet. The winning margin was 19 points – 16.15.111 to 14.8.92 – and second-gamer Gil Cartwright starred with 5 goals. Unfortunately, it did not immediately start a winning trend, as Hawthorn did not taste success at the MCG again until 1952.
However, since then the wins have flowed regularly and Hawthorn’s overall record at the MCG is now outstanding - 199 wins, 145 losses and one draw from 345 games played at the ground.
In recent years, Hawthorn and Geelong has become a regular Easter Monday MCG event. However, back in 2006, the two clubs played on Easter Saturday at Kardinia Park, in what remains the most recent meeting between the two clubs at Geelong.
The Hawks were huge underdogs as they headed down the highway in Round 3 2006, but they pulled off a stunning 52 point upset win. Geelong were early season Flag favourites but, after leading by 7 points at half-time, the young Hawthorn team blew the Cats away to win 15.11.101 to 7.7.49. The Brownlow votes went to Hodge, Mitchell and Vandenberg – who all ended up captaining the club. The only Hawthorn player still on the list who featured in that game was current captain Jarryd Roughead.
In the 25 games between Hawthorn and Geelong from 1987 to 2000, the Hawks had 20 wins, including ten by less than two goals, and only five defeats (none in close games). The 10 narrow wins were by margins of three (1987), eight (1989), six (1989 GF), two (1991 SSF), five (1995), two (1996), six (1997), two (1999), two (1999 again) and nine (2000 EF).
In total, Hawthorn and Geelong have played 162 times, with Hawthorn winning 72, Geelong 89 and with one draw in 1963.
25 years ago, in Round 2 1993, Shane Crawford became Hawthorn’s first Rising Star Award nominee after gathering 23 disposals and kicking 5 goals in a 57-point win against Sydney at the SCG. The 5 goals remained a career-high for Crawford throughout his illustrious 305 games in the brown and gold.
The Rising Star award began in 1993 and Crawford’s Round 2 nomination came between the first ever weekly nominee, Peter Everitt of St Kilda, and Round 3’s nomination, Nathan Chapman of Brisbane. In an odd quirk, both Everitt and Chapman later played for Hawthorn.
Tom Mitchell’s phenomenal 54 disposals last Saturday night set a new record, not just for Hawthorn, but also for the AFL.
Leigh Matthews set a Hawthorn record of 41 disposals, in the game when he also kicked 11 goals, against Essendon in 1973. That record stood for a decade until Terry Wallace broke it twice in 1983, first getting 42 in a loss to Carlton and then 44 in a big win versus Melbourne.
And there the record stayed for 34 years, not that Wallace kept it to himself. Five players equalled the record, beginning with Anthony Condon (1991) and followed by Jordan Lewis (2014), Luke Hodge (2015), Josh Gibson (2016) and Sam Mitchell (2016). It was finally broken by Tom Mitchell against Collingwood last season with an incredible 50, which he bettered in such spectacular style last weekend.
Read: "How do you tell a bloke not to go out and get the footy?"
Overall Round 2 is one of the Hawthorn’s poorer rounds, with 38 wins, one draw and 54 losses, but there have been some excellent wins in this round.
5 years ago, in Round 2 2013, Hawthorn bounced back from a loss to Geelong in Round 1 to defeat West Coast at Subiaco by 50 points – 23.10.148 to 14.8.92. The Eagles looked to be getting back into the game late in the third quarter and Hawks’ fans worried their team might tire in the warm conditions. However, Hawthorn powered home with an 8 goal to 3 final term. Grant Birchall received 3 Brownlow votes for a game in which he had 31 disposals and kicked 2 goals.
30 years ago, in Round 2 1988, the Hawks were also coming off a Round 1 loss, in that case to the reigning Premiers Carlton. They responded with an emphatic 85-point win against Richmond. A crowd of 18,082 at Waverley saw Hawthorn win 26.15.171 to 12.14.86. Jason Dunstall kicked 9 goals, while Paul Abbott and John Platten contributed 4 apiece. Platen was also the leading possession-getter in the game with 28 disposals.
40 years ago, in Round 2 1978, Hawthorn had what turned out to be its final win at the Lakeside Oval, as two subsequent games there ended in defeat. The inaccurate Hawks won 18.24.132 to South Melbourne’s 16.8.104. Norm Goss was outstanding against his former club with 23 kicks and 3 goals.
50 years ago, in Round 2 1968, the opponent and Hawks’ inaccuracy were the same, but the venue and result were different as Hawthorn 17.24.126 drew with the Swans 19.12.126 at Glenferrie. Peter Hudson kicked 8 goals, 9 behinds.
Jason Dunstall holds the club’s individual goal-kicking record against Geelong kicking 12 goals in Round 1 of both 1990 and 1992. He also holds the Round 2 record, kicking 9 twice – in 1988 versus Richmond and in 1991 against Sydney.
