1. How good was Josh Gibson?

It goes without saying, but we’ll say it again anyway.

Gibson collected 44 disposals – equalling the record for the most during a match in club history – plus 14 one-percenters, nine marks and four clearances.

And he didn’t come off the ground. And he kicked his first goal in his 127th game as a Hawk.

There might not be a better individual performance in 2016.

2. Dramatic improvement in disposal efficiency 

The Hawks’ disposal efficiency jumped from 69.7 per cent against Geelong to 74.7 percent against West Coast Eagles.

And what a difference it made.

Most noticeably, the Hawks’ key ball-movers were on their game.

Josh Gibson, Sam Mitchell, Isaac Smith, Billy Hartung and Jordan Lewis all had 28 disposals or more – and had a disposal efficiency above 78 per cent for the match.

Mitchell’s 37-disposal effort means he’s averaging more than 35 disposals per game in his past four against West Coast.

3. Young brigade stands up

Questions were asked of a number of young Hawks after the Round 1 loss, but they delivered the goods against the Eagles.

Billy Hartung racked up a career-best 32 disposals, Angus Litherland has slotted seamlessly into the back six and Jonathan O’Rourke built on a promising showing against the Cats.

Not to mention Will Langford’s 23-disposal, seven clearance performance, or James Sicily’s four-goal haul in just his fifth AFL game.

The future looks pretty bright.

4. Tackle pressure suffocates Eagles

The Hawks won the disposal count by a whopping 165 – 458 to the Eagles’ 293 – but also won the tackle by eight.

Coach Alastair Clarkson said post-game the Hawks were really strong in all three phases of the game – when they had the ball, when the Eagles had the ball, and when the ball was in dispute.

Every Hawk laid a tackle.

Will Langford was the Hawks’ tackle leader with 11 – four more than any other player on the ground – while 17 Hawks laid three or more tackles during the match.

5. Six months on, margin stays the same 

Exactly six months separated the Hawks-Eagles Round 2 clash (April 3, 2016) from the 2015 grand final (October 3, 2015).

And the margin was exactly the same – 46 points.

It’s a bit freaky.