GRANT Birchall will this week enter the top twenty on the Hawthorn career games list.

Birchall is currently tied in equal 20^th with Michael Moncrieff on 224 games, but will move inside the top twenty in his own right after he takes the field against Sydney on Friday night.

At just 28 years of age, Birchall clearly has the opportunity to progress significantly higher up the list. He has missed just 26 games of a possible 250 games since making his debut in Round 1 2006.

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Fifty years ago this round, Hawthorn recorded its first ever victory over a Ron Barassi coached team, coming from behind to cause a significant upset. The Blues went into the Round 9 1966 game with a 5-3 record, while the Peter O’Donohue-coached Hawks were struggling with just two wins. The form-book seemed to be confirmed when Hawthorn managed only 0.4 to quarter time and still only had a score of 1.7 at half-time and were trailing by 21 points.

However, Hawthorn then produced an outstanding second half to win 9.13 (67) to 9.9 (63). John Peck kicked four goals, and the leading kick-getters included veteran captain Graham Arthur and first-year players Peter Crimmins and Des Meagher. Another notable feature of the statistics was that ‘Delicate’ Des Dickson gave away seven free kicks, but did not receive any.

1966 was Barassi’s second season as captain-coach of Carlton after his dramatic move from Melbourne. In his first season, 1965, Carlton had beaten the Hawks twice, including in his first-ever game as coach. Barassi went onto coach four different clubs against Hawthorn in his decorated coaching career from 1965 to 1995, with the odd quirk of beginning his tenure at three of those clubs with games against the Hawks. He remains the only man to have been the opposition coach in two Hawthorn Premierships (1976 and 1978).

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Luke Breust’s 12 goals in the past three games has him within striking distance of becoming the 17^th Hawthorn player to reach 250 career goals. His three goals against Fremantle took him to 244 in the process passing Mark Williams (242).

At the other end of the career goals list, Josh Gibson’s second goal for Hawthorn against the Dockers means that the mantle of most games for one Hawthorn career goal (which Gibson had held since his goal against West Coast in Round 2) has now been handed to his teammate Ben Stratton, who has kicked one goal in his 125 game career.

Gibson how holds the record for most games for just two career goals. The only Hawk to have played more games than Gibson and have fewer than 10 career goals is Ian Bremner who booted six majors in his 158 games.

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Hawthorn seems to be in the pattern of playing Sydney in Round 9 every five years. The two most recent meetings produced very different outcomes. In Round 9 2006 Hawthorn was thumped by 65 points at the MCG, whereas in Round 9 2011 the Hawks won by 46 points at the SCG.

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Hawthorn has played the Swans 160 times, recording 89 wins, 69 defeats and two draws. Last season’s two encounters both saw the away team win – Sydney by four points at the MCG in Round 8 and Hawthorn at Stadium Australia by 89 points in Round 16.

Hawthorn and Sydney do not have a long history of playing at the MCG, having met there for the first time as recently as 2001 but, given their recent rivalry, they have played there a lot recently. The two clubs have met 16 times at the venue with the Hawks holding a 10-6 advantage, including winning 8 of the last 10.

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Hawthorn has played 90 matches in Round 9 for 42 wins and 48 defeats, having had the bye in 2014. The Hawks won five consecutive Round 9 matches from 2007 to 2011, but then suffered a shock 62-point loss to Richmond in Round 9 2012, before bouncing back with wins against Gold Coast in both 2013 and 2015.

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Twenty-five years ago, in Round 9 1991, Hawthorn came from seven points down at three quarter time to beat Essendon by 16 points – 15.13 (103) to 13.9 (87). Paul Dear kicked four goals and Paul Hudson three, and the leading ball-winners were John Platten with 32 disposals and Gary Ayres with 28.

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Thirty years ago, in Round 9 1986, Hawthorn ventured down to Geelong for a Sunday match at Kardinia Park. The game appeared to be almost over by quarter time after Hawthorn had kicked eight goals straight in the opening term to Geelong’s 2.2.

Geelong got back into the game to be only down by seven points down at both half and three quarter time. Hawthorn then finished off the game with a 7.4 to 3.2 final term to win 19.5 (119) to 12.14 (86). Ken Judge kicked six goals, Terry Wallace had 35 disposals and Ray Jencke made his debut.

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Forty years ago, in Round 9 1976, Hawthorn recorded a solid 27-point win against Fitzroy at Princes Park – 18.15 (123) to 14.12 (96). A crowd of just 8,971 saw Michael Moncrieff kick six goals and Leigh Matthews four. Matthews also had 32 disposals and Des Meagher (mentioned earlier in the column for a good effort in his first season) now did well as a veteran accumulating 23 disposals, all of which were kicks. And while the 1966 game had featured a lopsided free-kick count against an individual, this one did against the whole team as Fitzroy received 59 frees and Hawthorn 31.

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Peter Hudson holds the individual goals record for Hawthorn against the Swans, twice kicking 13, in both 1969 and 1970. He also holds the Round 9 record, booting 10, in a 30-point victory over Fitzroy at Glenferrie, in this round in 1968.