The clash between Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night was truly a tale of two halves.
The opening half saw a tight tussle between the two sides, as the Dogs took a slender two-point lead into half-time having held sway in multiple key areas: clearances (+5), contested possessions (+10) and kicking efficiency (+15 percent).
But the Dogs’ greatest dominance in the first half lay in the uncontested possessions statistic, where they recorded 56 more than the Hawks.
The ability to spread from the contest and own the ball on the outside is a strength of the Bulldogs, who rank third league-wide for uncontested possessions, with the Hawks sitting seventh.
But the Hawks’ incredible second half burst could largely be attributed to the way they turned this massive first half discrepancy on its head.
In the third and fourth terms, the Hawks won 61 more uncontested possessions than the Western Bulldogs as Alastair Clarkson’s side took over complete momentum in the game.
It was undoubtedly the Hawks’ most electric half of the season, piling on 12 goals to two and 18 scoring shots to three after half-time.
One area that benefitted most from the Hawks’ uncontested possession ascendancy was their marks inside 50.
The brown and gold were able to spot up an incredible 15 marks inside their attacking zone in the second half to the Dogs’ zero.
In fact, the Dogs took five of their six total marks inside 50 in the first 20 minutes of the match.
This was perhaps the most promising thing about the Hawks’ performance on the night, as they were able to ride out a threatening Dogs’ wave before compiling some of their best form to date in a wonderful second half.
