Hawthorn has bounced back from losing the opening two games of the season to make the Finals on four separate occasions.
In both 1963 and 1985 the Hawks recovered well enough from 0-2 starts to make the Grand Final. In 1977, the slow-starting Hawthorn team went extremely close to making the decider when it lost the Second Semi to Collingwood by just two points. The most recent case of recovering from a 0-2 start to make the Finals was in the year 2000 when the Hawks won sufficient games to make the Eight and then beat Geelong in an Elimination Final.
***********
40 years ago, in Round 3 1977, Hawthorn, the reigning Premier, was desperate for a win after copping a 10 goal thrashing from North Melbourne on the opening day and then suffering a one-point loss to Richmond in Round 2.
The Hawks travelled down the highway to Geelong to face a Cats team that had made the Finals in 1976 and had a 1-1 record after the opening two rounds. The result was never really in doubt as Hawthorn led at every change and then iced the game with a seven goal to one final term to run out 55 point winners – 15.15.105 to 6.14.50.
The cream certainly rose to the top as Peter Hudson in his comeback season booted seven goals and Leigh Matthews had a game-high 31 disposals. Other good players were David O’Halloran, Geoff Ablett, Kelvin Matthews, John Hendrie, Don Scott and Alan Goad.
The Geelong score was the lowest the Cats had ever kicked at home against Hawthorn and it remained the record low until the most recent game between the two clubs at Kardinia Park in 2006 (also in Round 3) when Geelong kicked 6.13.49.
***********
Ryan Burton has joined elite company by securing a Rising Star nomination in the opening two rounds of the season. The only two previous players to do so in Hawthorn colours were Shane Crawford (Round 2 1993) and Sam Mitchell (Round 1 2003).
Read: Burton's star is on the rise
Being nominated after just five games is also rare. Of Hawthorn’s 35 nominees, the only ones nominated after fewer games than Burton were Crawford (2nd game), Jed Anderson (3rd game) and Lance Franklin (4th game), while others nominated following their 5th game were Jarryd Morton and Garry Moss.
***********
Hawthorn will be trying to avoid losing its opening three games of the season for just the fourth time in the last 50 years. In all that time, the only seasons when the Hawks have lost three in a row to start the season were 1970, 1998 and 2005, compared to seven seasons when the Hawks bounced back with wins in the third game after starting 0-2.
***********
Hawthorn has won all eight matches it has played against Gold Coast, its longest successful opening sequence against any opponent. The only other clubs against which the Hawks began with a winning sequence were Brisbane (4), GWS (3), Fremantle (2), Footscray (1) and Port Adelaide (1).
This Sunday’s match is just the third away game against the Suns with the previous two Hawthorn visits to Carrara producing very different winning margins of nine (2011) and 99 (2014). As well as the two games which the Hawks have played at the venue against Gold Coast, they also played Brisbane six times at Carrara, winning four rimes and losing twice.
***********
Jarryd Roughead is getting close to becoming just the sixth Hawk to kick 500 career goals. He has kicked two goals in both games so far this season to take his career tally to 495. The five Hawthorn players to have reached the 500-goal milestone are Jason Dunstall (1254), Leigh Matthews (915), Peter Hudson (727), Michael Moncrieff (629) and Lance Franklin (580).
***********
Round 3 has been one of Hawthorn’s best rounds. The Hawks had a remarkable Round 3 record between 1971 and 1992, winning 19 and losing just three. The Hawks also have done well in Round 3 in the Clarkson era, winning 10 of 12, including the last six in a row. Five of these were by big margins before last season’s three point thriller against the Bulldogs. These past six wins have led to Hawthorn having a positive overall record in the round - 49 wins and 43 losses from 92 matches.
************
10 years ago, in Round 3 2007, Hawthorn beat the Kangaroos at Docklands by 21 points – 13.13.91 to 10.10.70. Mark Williams kicked 4 goals and the best players included Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis and Grant Birchall.
Read: Birchall set for stint on sidelines
20 years ago, in Round 3 1997, a crowd of 27,947 headed to Waverley Park on a Sunday afternoon and saw the Hawks score a 12 point win against Brisbane Lions – 12.15.87 to 11.9.75. Jason Dunstall kicked 5 goals, while Daniel Harford (29 disposals), Angelo Lekkas (28) and Craig Treleven (27) were outstanding in the midfield.
***********
The individual goalkicking record for Hawthorn in Round 3 is 11 kicked by Leigh Matthews versus Essendon at Waverley in 1973. Michael Moncrieff had a particular liking for Round 3, kicking 10 in both 1974 versus South Melbourne and 1976 against Collingwood. The record for Hawthorn against Gold Coast is five, held jointly by Luke Breust (2011), Lance Franklin (2013) and Jack Gunston (2014).
