Forget Stakes Day, we're celebrating #StrattsDay - all things Ben Stratton, all day long.

As we honour our #24 today (for no other reason than that he deserves to be honoured!), we thought we would take a look at three of the best games of our trusty defender’s career…

Round 17, 2014 vs Adelaide

Having kicked 15 goals over the previous four weeks, the in-form Eddie Betts was preparing for his 200^th game with supreme confidence. Against the Hawks and at his beloved Adelaide Oval, the stage was set for Betts to turn on one of his characteristic, magical displays at the venue. There was just one problem- Ben Stratton was intent on spoiling the dangerous goal kicker’s parade. As it happened, Betts’ milestone celebrations were resoundingly interrupted. The former Blue was allowed just seven possessions and one goal, the equal fewest scoring shots of his season. The Hawks beat the Crows by two goals and a rivalry between Betts and Stratton was born.

2015 Semi Final vs Adelaide

Having lost to West Coast in a qualifying final the previous week, Hawthorn faced a do-or-die clash against Adelaide at the MCG in order to keep the dream of a premiership threepeat alive. Having kicked 63 goals for the year to finish second in the Coleman Medal race, Eddie Betts posed as the Hawks’ biggest threat to spoiling their history-making mission. Betts had kicked a goal in every one of his 22 games that season, averaging an impressive 2.9 goals per game. Given his recent success in the match-up, Stratton was again tasked with the role on the talented small forward, and the job he did was symbolic of the job Hawthorn did on the Crows that night. Betts was restricted to just nine disposals in his only goalless performance of the year, as Adelaide’s season was ended by the Hawks, victors by 74 points.

Round 3, 2016 vs Western Bulldogs

Demolishing Fremantle and then St Kilda in the first two rounds of the season by a cumulative margin of 122 points, the Western Bulldogs had emerged as a premiership threat in 2016. Fresh off his All Australian year in 2015, Dogs forward Jake Stringer had kicked seven goals in the opening fortnight. Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson turned to his trusty lock-down option in Stratton. The defender rose to the challenge, limiting Stringer to little impact, as he kicked just one goal for the afternoon. It was a significant performance for his side, as the Hawks overcame the Bulldogs’ 19-point three-quarter time lead to snatch victory by three points in front of a packed Etihad Stadium.

Read: Unique ways in which Hawthorn's coaches are linked

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