This Sunday, Hawthorn will be hoping to put together three consecutive Round 1 wins for the first time this century.

Prior to beating Collingwood (2018) and Adelaide (2019), the only other recent instance of the Hawks winning consecutive Round 1 games was in 2014-15 when the Hawks beat Brisbane Lions and Geelong. The last Round 1 winning sequence of more than two Hawthorn wins was one of six consecutive victories from 1992 to 1997.

There are positive and negative historical omens for Hawthorn approaching the 2020 season.

On the positive side, it is five seasons since the Hawks most recent Flag in 2015. This is a good omen as on three previous occasions the Hawks have won Premierships after five-year ‘droughts’ – 1971 to 1976, 1978 to 1983 and 2008 to 2013.

On the other hand, years ending in zero have historically not been too successful for Hawthorn. If the 2020 Hawks finish in the top four, they will become the first Hawthorn team to do so in a year ending in 0. To date, the best Hawthorn finish in a year ending in 0 has been fifth in both 1960 and 1990.

Games behind closed doors will obviously produce the smallest attendances ever at Hawthorn games.

Until now, the smallest attendances were during the Second World War with two crowds recorded as 2,000, against Melbourne at Glenferrie in 1941 and, perhaps surprisingly, against Collingwood at Victoria Park in 1942. There were also two crowds of 2,500 in 1942. The smallest attendance at a Hawthorn game, apart from during World War Two, was 2,500 against Geelong in 1935 at the only game Hawthorn won at Corio Oval. 

This Sunday, the MCG will host a Hawthorn home game against the Brisbane Lions for the first time in eight years. The two clubs last clashed at the MCG in Round 12 2012, with the Hawks winning by 65 points – 19.21.145 to 11.4.70. Lance Franklin kicked five goals and Shaun Burgoyne got the three Brownlow votes.

In fact, 10 of the last 14 games between the two clubs have been played in Launceston, with only three at the Gabba and just the 2012 match at the MCG.

This will be the fourth occasion that Hawthorn has played Brisbane in Round 1, with the Hawks defeating the Bears at Waverley in 1995 and the Lions in Launceston in 2014, but losing at the Gabba in 2007.

Overall, Hawthorn and Brisbane have played 50 times, with the Hawks winning 30 and losing 20. However, the Lions have won the past four encounters, after Hawthorn won the preceding eight.

Hawthorn has had mixed results in the Round 1s of seasons ending in 0. There were landmark wins in 1930 and 1940, but the only subsequent successes were in 1990 and 2010.

90 years ago, in Round 1 1930, Hawthorn recorded its first ever opening round success, with an 11-point win over St Kilda in front of 18,000 fans at Glenferrie. Bert Hyde booted five goals, while recruit 31-year old Len ‘Tiny’ Mills chipped in with three crucial majors. It was also a historic day for football in general as, for the first time, an injured player was able to be replaced – George Bennett was the first 19^th man for Hawthorn.

80 years ago, in Round 1 1940, Hawthorn kicked a club record score of 25.11.161 and thrashed North Melbourne by 72 points. Alec Albiston became the first Hawthorn player to kick 10 goals in a game. He was ably assisted by Vin Doherty, who kicked seven goals in his first game for the club, after crossing from Collingwood, a record for goals on club debut that stood until Michael Byrne kicked eight in 1982.

30 years ago, in the opening round of 1990, Hawthorn proved its superiority over its 1989 Grand Final opponent Geelong with a 115-point Round 1 win at Waverley in 1990. Jason Dunstall kicked 12 goals. 10 years ago, in Round 1 2010, Hawthorn thrashed Melbourne by 56 points, with the Brownlow votes going to Luke Hodge, Jordan Lewis and Sam Mitchell.

The years 1950, 1960 and 1970 all saw losing starts to the season. In 1950, when John Kennedy Snr.  made his playing debut, not only did Hawthorn lose by 80 points to Geelong in Round 1 but went through the whole season without a win. In 1960, when Kennedy took over as coach, the club lost the first five games and then, in 1970, the Hawks lost the first seven games of the season. Of course, 18 months after the poor starts to the 1960 and 1970 seasons, Hawthorn won the 1961 and 1971 Premierships.  

In 1980 when, in Hawthorn’s first League game in March, the Hawks suffered a five-point Round 1 loss to Richmond at Princes Park.

The year 2000 saw Hawthorn’s earliest ever Round 1 game, being played on Monday, 13 March in the Olympic year. It was Hawthorn’s first home game as a tenant at the MCG and in hot conditions the Hawks lost to Collingwood by 56 points.

The club record for Round 1 is 12 goals kicked by Dunstall, against Geelong in the opening rounds of both 1990 and 1992. Others to reach double figures in Round 1 were Alec Albiston (10 in 1940), Peter Hudson (10 in 1968) and Leigh Matthews (11 in 1981).

Dunstall also holds the club individual goal-kicking record against Brisbane, with 11 goals in the first ever match between the two clubs at Carrara in 1987.