JACK Gunston or Sam Mitchell, which of the two star Hawks was best on ground in Saturday night’s victory?
The coaches, Guy McKenna and Alastair Clarkson were split, with the duo each receiving nine votes in the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year award.
That means one coach awarded each player the maximum five votes in the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 system and the other receiving four.
Gunston, along with Jarryd Roughead led the Hawthorn forward line with five goals but also pushed up the ground to gather 25 disposals. He also took 10 marks and had one goal assist.
Mitchell on the other hand gathered a game-high 36 disposals and kicked two goals in a dominant display as he sliced the Gold Coast midfield apart.
The gun midfielder had 11 disposals to quarter time and continued that good form for four quarters, with the Suns having no answer to the dynamic Hawks midfielder.
Mitchell also had six clearances, six one percenters and four inside 50s.
Unsurprisingly, Hawthorn players dominated the votes in the 99-point victory, with not one Gold Coast player receiving a vote.
Reigning best and fairest winner Josh Gibson received five votes as he continued his good form in defence, proving again an impenetrable force for the opposition.
The Suns kicked only seven goals for the game and just one after half time, with Gibson and fellow key defender Kyle Cheney controlling the Suns’ front half.
Gibson was also an attacking force from half back, gathering 31 disposals along with 10 marks and had four rebound 50s.
In the absence of premiership pair Brian Lake and Ben Stratton, Gibson has had an impressive start to the season, forming a reliable and consistent partnership with Cheney.
Captain Luke Hodge also received votes, awarded three by the coaches. Hodge gathered 32 disposals playing in the midfield and down back, took nine marks, had six inside 50s, five rebound 50s, five one percenters and four clearances.
Small forward Luke Breust also received a vote, continuing his excellent start to the season with 20 disposals, three tackles and two goals and Matt Suckling has now more than settled in in his return season from a knee reconstruction, also receiving one vote.
Suckling had 30 disposals, five inside 50s and kicked two goals in the victory.
The votes: Gold Coast v Hawthorn
9 Gunston (Haw)
9 Mitchell (Haw)
5 Gibson (Haw)
3 Hodge (Haw)
2 Cheney (Haw)
1 Breust (Haw)
1 Suckling (Haw)
Round 4 Leaderboard
34 Joel Selwood (Geelong)
20 Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)
20 Brendon Goddard (Essendon)
20 Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
19 Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)
19 Scott Thompson (Nth Melbourne)
18 Ben Cunnington (Nth Melbourne)
18 Nathan Jones (Melbourne)
18 Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
17 Steve Johnson (Geelong)
17 Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle)
17 Adam Treloar (GWS)
