This Saturday Hawthorn has the chance to equal its best ever winning sequence of six against Collingwood. The Hawks beat the Magpies three times in 2012 and twice last season.
Hawthorn has previously recorded winning sequences of six against Collingwood on three separate occasions (1982-84, 1985-88 and 1989-92).
Collingwood won the first 29 matches between the two clubs and as late as the end of the 1960 season Hawthorn had only won 4 of the 61 matches against the Magpies and could only look enviously at Collingwood’s 13 Premierships. From 1961 onwards, the boot has been on the other foot, with the Hawks holding a 57 to 39 advantage in the head-to-head, and having won 11 Premierships to the Magpies 2. In total, Hawthorn has now won 61 and Collingwood 96.
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Shaun Burgoyne is due to play his 100th game for Hawthorn this week against Collingwood, joining the rare group to reach that milestone having previously played 100 games for another club. Burgoyne played 157 games for Port Adelaide from 2002 to 2009. Others to have achieved the feat include Russell Greene and Paul Salmon.
Since his delayed debut in Round 8 2010, Burgoyne has been remarkably durable playing 99 out of a possible 103 games. His debut coincided with the Hawks revival after a horror 1-6 start to the 2010 season, and he has gone on to play in 76 wins, 1 draw and just 22 losses.
Burgoyne also becomes the first player to debut for Hawthorn since the 2008 Premiership to reach 100 games. Others who are getting close are Josh Gibson (91 games), Liam Shiels (89) and Ben Stratton (81).
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As foreshadowed in last week’s Flashbacks, Brendon Bolton has equaled the record for the best winning start by a Hawthorn coach. In winning his first three games he has equaled Graham Arthur’s achievement in 1964. After wins against South Melbourne, Carlton and St Kilda, Arthur lost the fourth game he coached against North Melbourne at Arden Street by 31 points. Let’s hope that Bolton can go one better this week against Collingwood. Another potential milestone this week is Jarryd Roughead’s 400th career goal. He is currently on 399.
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In making his debut for Hawthorn last Friday night, Ben Ross became just the sixth former North Melbourne player to shift to Hawthorn and play a Senior game. The others were Terry Moore (1979), Andrew Demetriou (1988), Anthony Rock (1999), Josh Gibson (2010) and David Hale (2011). The fact that it took until 1979 for Hawthorn to recruit a player from North is remarkable, given that they had given games to players from the other ten clubs as early as 1931. Eleven players have shifted in the other direction, from Hawthorn to North.
Before North Melbourne, Ross came from the small West Gippsland town of Bunyip. He is only the second Hawk to hail from there, the other being Barry Toy, who played 9 games in 1959-60.
As well as being the third former North Melbourne player on the current Hawthorn list, Ross is the third Liston Trophy winner. Ross won the Liston when playing for Werribee in 2012. The two other current Hawks to have won the Liston were Sam Mitchell (2002) and Mitch Hallahan (2013), who both won it at Box Hill. Other former Hawthorn players to have won the Liston include Jack Blackman, Bryan Waters, Stephen Allender, and Paul Johnson, while another former Hawthorn player, Bert Hyde, won an earlier version of the Liston called the Recorder Cup.
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25 years ago, in Round 14 1989, Hawthorn thrashed West Coast at Princes Park by 91 points – 19.27.141 to 6.14.50. The game was effectively over at quarter time after the Hawks produced an 8.8 to 0.3 opening term. Jason Dunstall kicked 7 goals, while the leading possession getters were Anthony Condon (28), Darrin Pritchard (26) and Michael Tuck (26).
30 years ago, in Round 14 1984, Hawthorn handed out an even more comprehensive beating, demolishing St Kilda at Moorabbin by 104 points – 19.20.134 to 4.6.30. Gary Ayres had an outstanding game with a career high 35 disposals and 12 marks, and justly received the 3 Brownlow votes. However, it could be argued that Leigh Matthews was a bit unlucky to just get 1 vote for a game in which he had 37 disposals and kicked 5 goals.
40 years ago, in Round 14 1974, the 4th placed Hawks travelled to Windy Hill to take on the 7th placed Bombers. At half-time Hawthorn led by 13 points, but powered away with a 13.6 to 2.5 second half to win by 80 points - 23.17.155 to 11.9.75. Charlie Grummisch equaled his career-high goals tally of 5 goals, while Peter Crimmins, Don Scott and Michael Tuck all kicked 4. The best players were Scott, Alan Martello, Tuck, Crimmins, Leon Rice, Des Meagher and Geoff Ablett.
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Hawthorn has played 87 matches in Round 14 (having had byes in 1993 and 1994), with a record of 41 wins and 46 losses. The Hawks have won their last four games in this round beating the Western Bulldogs (2010), Essendon (2011), Carlton (2012) and Brisbane Lions last season, but have a way to go to equal their record of ten consecutive Round 14 wins between 1967 and 1976.
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Jason Dunstall holds the Hawthorn record for most goals in a game versus Collingwood, having booted 11 in both 1989 and 1990. Next best was Michael Moncrieff’s 10 in 1976. The Round 14 individual goal-kicking record for Hawthorn is 12, kicked by Peter Hudson against Footscray at Glenferrie in 1968.
