Sam Mitchell is poised to become the 11^th individual to play 250 games for Hawthorn.

The first Hawthorn player to reach the milestone was Don Scott against South Melbourne on Anzac Day 1979, while the most recent was Shane Crawford against Brisbane Lions in Round 19 2005.

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Taylor Duryea’s goal in the second quarter against Geelong was the first of his AFL career. The fact that it came in his 23^rd game was the furthest into a Hawthorn career that a first goal has come since Brad Sewell kicked his first in his 40^th game in the final round of the 2006 season (Sewell added his second in the same game).

The longest wait for a first Hawthorn goal was by Len Crane who booted his first in his 98^th game for the club in 1957. However, there are two players who have had longer Hawthorn careers than Crane without ever kicking a goal – Alf Hughes (107 games) and Cam McPherson (104). Josh Gibson is rapidly closing in on these two having played 88 games in brown and gold without kicking a goal (he kicked 2 at North Melbourne).

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Easter Monday was the 6^th time a Hawthorn home and away game has been watched by a crowd of over 80,000. It joined two other recent games against Geelong (2008 and 2013) and three matches against Collingwood, two of which were also in recent seasons (2011 and 2012), but the record Hawthorn home and away attendance remains the 92,935 who saw the Hawks beat the Magpies at Waverley in 1981.

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This round marks the 25^th and 80^th anniversaries of dramatic Hawthorn wins.

It is now 25 years since one of the most famous Hawthorn home and away victories. In Round 6, 1989 the Hawks came from 56 points down late in the second quarter to beat Geelong by 7 points. The high-scoring match at Princes Park saw Geelong lead by 19, 46 and 19 again at the changes, before the Hawks stormed home to win 26.15.171 to 25.13.163. The goals were shared amongst 11 players headed by Gary Buckenara 5, Dermott Brereton 5, Jason Dunstall 4, Tony Hall 3, Dean Anderson 2 and James Morrissey 2. The two teams did not meet again in that home and away season, not clashing again until the last Saturday in September.

Back in Round 6, 1934, Hawthorn beat Footscray by 6 points, in a game that looked to be heading for a draw until a late goal from crack full-forward, Jack Green, clinched the win for the Mayblooms – 11.11.77 to 10.11.71. It was Green’s only goal for the game and has added significance, because he kicked at least one goal in all 40 matches he played for the club. Green had crossed from Carlton at the start of the 1934 season and in three seasons in brown and gold he kicked a total of 167 goals at the impressive average of 4.18 goals per game, the third highest average in the club’s history behind Peter Hudson (5.64) and Jason Dunstall (4.66).

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In this Anzac Day round, we should remember the eight Hawthorn players who lost their lives in World War Two – Jack Drake, Alf Giblett, Alex Nash, Richard Pirrie, Jack Price, Len Thomas, Max Wheeler and Gus Young.

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Hawthorn has won 5 of its last 6 games played in Round 6, the only blemish being a loss to Essendon in 2010. Overall in Round 6, Hawthorn has recorded 38 wins and 47 defeats in 85 matches (with byes in 1942, 1943, 1994 and 2011).

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Hawthorn has won 6 of its last 9 matches against Richmond. Oddly, the 3 losses came in the three seasons (2008, 2012 and 2013) when Hawthorn went onto play in the Grand Final. In both 2008 and 2013 the upset defeats were Hawthorn last for the season. In 2008, the 29 point defeat in Round 20 followed a Hawks win in Round 6, while in Round 19 last season the margin of defeat was 41 points. In 2012, the Tigers thrashed the Hawks by 62 points in Round 9.

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In total, Hawthorn has played Richmond 151 times for 67 wins and 84 losses, the deficit being wholly accounted for by Hawthorn losing the first 21 games between the two clubs from 1925 to 1936. The Hawks’ best sequences of wins against Richmond were 16 (1985-94) and 10 (1959-64).

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Jason Dunstall had an amazing season against Richmond in 1992, booting a club record 17 goals in Round 7 and following it up with a further bag of 12 in Round 22. In his whole career, Dunstall kicked 111 goals against Richmond, behind only his 116 against the Bulldogs. Dunstall also holds the Hawthorn record for Round 6 kicking 9 in both 1992 and 1993 (against Collingwood and Adelaide respectively), a tally equalled by Lance Franklin (against Essendon in 2007). Peter Hudson booted 8 in Round 6, 1970, in the club’s first ever Waverley game.