THE STAKES weren’t as high as they used to be but Hawthorn’s dominance over Fremantle endures, with the Hawks romping to a 52-point victory on Saturday night.
When these 2013 Grand Final opponents last met at Domain Stadium a spot in the ‘15 season-decider was up for grabs.
This time the Hawks and Dockers were ‘only’ fighting to keep their slim finals hopes alive, and it was the visitors who cruised to a 15.10 (100) to 7.6 (48) triumph.
It was Hawthorn’s 10th win over Fremantle from the past 11 clashes, and rubbing salt into the wounds was an apparent knee injury suffered by Dockers gun Michael Walters two minutes into the final term.
As Walters pulled up short of a marking contest on the wing and hobbled to the bench, best-on-ground Jack Gunston (35 disposals, eight marks) iced the game with a long-range goal to extend the Hawks’ lead to 34 points.
It was the final nail in Freo’s coffin but, in reality, the Dockers never seriously challenged Hawthorn’s stranglehold on the contest after the visitor’s blistering start.
A four-goal onslaught to open proceedings immediately put Freo on the back foot and silenced the 30,818-strong crowd.
The Hawks dominated possession in the opening term (120-96) and had the footy moving around like a pinball.
Late goals to returning spearhead Cam McCarthy and hard-working forward Shane Kersten (two goals) gave Freo some momentum heading into the first break 15 points adrift.
However, the Dockers’ lack of firepower continues to haunt them.
Despite closing to within eight points early in the second quarter, they couldn’t muster a serious fightback and Saturday night’s clash emphasised the gulf in skill between these sides.
These Hawks might not be as ruthlessly efficient as the brown and gold machine of their triple-premiership golden era, but even a side in transition picked apart the Dockers.
Hawthorn edged ahead by 20 points at half-time, thanks largely to some supreme class by sharpshooter Luke Breust.
First he rolled through a beauty from deep in the right pocket, before threading the eye of the needle on the run on his left foot.
There were a few hiccups, but they were rare on a night when Alastair Clarkson celebrated becoming Hawthorn’s longest-serving coach, with another convincing win in his 300th game.
The Hawks (7-9-1) now have three wins and a draw from their past five games and remain a distant chance to feature in an eighth-straight September campaign.
Ball magnet Tom Mitchell (37 disposals) helped ignite Saturday’s victory, while Sicily (29), fellow youngster Blake Hardwick (23) and Liam Shiels (25) worked overtime all match.
Daniel Howe limited Dockers skipper Nat Fyfe’s influence to 23 touches and a goal.
Irishman Conor Glass impressed with his composure on debut and gathered 15 touches, while Ben McEvoy controlled the ruck.
Triple-premiership former Hawks wingman Bradley Hill (25) was Freo’s best and was emotional post-match embracing his ex-teammates and Clarkson.
Young gun Connor Blakely tried hard in defence alongside Joel Hamling (21) and Lachie Weller (22), while Lachie Neale (27) and Stephen Hill (21) didn’t lower their colours.
But they couldn’t prevent the rebuilding Dockers from limping to a seventh loss from their past eight games.
FREMANTLE 2.0 3.4 5.5 7.6 (48)
HAWTHORN 4.3 6.6 9.9 15.10 (100)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Breust 2, Roughead 2, Henderson 2, Burgoyne 2, Smith, Gunston, Schoenmakers, Hartung, O’Brien, McEvoy, Howe.
Fremantle: Kersten 2, McCarthy 2, Fyfe, Nyhuis, Ballantyne.
BEST
Hawthorn: Gunston, Mitchell, Shiels, Breust, Howe, Roughead, Hodge, Sicily.
Fremantle: B.Hill, Fyfe, Neale, Blakely, Logue, Hamling.
INJURIES
Hawthorn: Nil
Fremantle: Walters (leg)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Margetts, Ryan, Dalgleish
Official crowd: 30,818 at Domain Stadium
