Hawthorn’s first half against Port Adelaide last Thursday night made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
As the half-time siren blew, the Hawks found themselves down by 59 points and, with three points to their name, they had recorded the lowest half-time score in the club’s history.
It surpassed a previous half-time low of four points.
What would surprise people is when this former record occurred.
A keen fan might suggest this happened around Hawthorn’s first years in the competition, when, from their first year in 1925 until 1928, they “won” three of the four available wooden spoons.
But no, that fan would be wrong.
Perhaps in 1950, when the club recorded its most consecutive losing quarters, 15 in total, from Rounds 4 to 8?
Incorrect.
Maybe Round 2 1969, when Carlton delivered Hawthorn their worst ever loss outside of those dark, formative years when they thumped the Hawks by 128 points?
Wrong again.
In fact, this previous worst first half came in Round 14 2009 against the Western Bulldogs.
Only 280 days after the Hawks won the 2008 premiership.
Also, 1000 days later a historical premiership season threepeat started that saw the Hawks be considered among the greatest sides of all time.
Read: VFL Coach Chris Newman reviews each listed Hawk's VFL performance
Further to that, the Hawks response was impressive after their ordinary showing against the Bulldogs, overcoming would-be preliminary finalists Collingwood the next week before beating North Melbourne the week after.
Luke Hodge led the way over that fortnight, gathering a combined 59 possessions and kicking five goals.
Jarryd Roughead also kicked four goals across the two matches in a pair of strong outings.
Vice-Captain Liam Shiels was the only other player to have played both last week and in the 2009 loss and, in just his fourth AFL game, he responded to the latter with a then career-high eight tackles.
Hawks fans will expect a similar response from their leaders this weekend.
Hurt from a poor showing against Port Adelaide, this game poses as a must-win to ensure the Hawks enter their mid-season bye in contact with the top eight.
Hawthorn will be seeking to avenge last week’s disappointment as they take on the Gold Coast this Saturday at the MCG.
Read: Mid season review - an assessment of our midfielders
