FORWARD Jack Gunston was the only Hawk to poll votes from the coaches in last Friday night’s 20-point loss to North Melbourne.
Gunston booted a career-best six goals in the loss and picked up 21 disposals to be Hawthorn’s best in the loss, earning himself six votes from Alastair Clarkson and Brad Scott in the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year award.
The young forward was an everywhere man on Friday night, venturing up onto the wing and then deep into defence to fill the hole in front of Drew Petrie who was dominating for the Roos.
His six-goal haul helped him achieve another career-best, this time for goals kicked in a season for home-and-away matches.
Gunston took his season tally to 36 goals for the year, passing his previous best of 35 achieved during Rounds 1-23 last year.
Unsurprisingly, key North Melbourne duo Petrie and Lachlan Hansen shared best on ground honours, with the coaches awarding them nine votes each.
Petrie booted a match-winning five goals, including three in a devastating third-quarter burst that ended up being the difference in the game.
Hansen dominated the game from the opposition end of the ground, dropping in front of Hawk Jarryd Roughead to nullify his influence.
From the outset, Hansen thwarted attack after attack after attack as the Hawks searched for other ways to enter their forward 50.
The Roos swingman took a game-high 14 marks – almost double the amount of marks taken by any other player on the ground.
He also picked up 28 disposals – the third-most of any North Melbourne player and the equal most of Hawthorn’s leading disposal-getter, Luke Hodge.
Midfielders Nick Dal Santo and Brent Harvey also featured in the votes, picking up three each as they were the only two players to top 30 touches on the night.
Dal Santo was dominant in the middle with 36 and seven clearances, while Harvey had 30 and had two goal assists.
The votes: North Melbourne v Hawthorn
9 Hansen (NM)
9 Petrie (NM)
6 Gunston (Haw)
3 Dal Santo (NM)
3 Harvey (NM)
Round 16 Leaderboard
75 Nathan Fyfe (Fremantle)
72 Gary Ablett Gold (Coast)
67 Robbie Gray Port (Adelaide)
66 Josh Kennedy (Sydney)
59 Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)
52 Lance Franklin (Sydney)
48 Travis Boak Port (Adelaide)
46 Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)
46 Matthew Priddis (West Coast)
45 Brendon Goddard (Essendon)
