After Hawthorn’s 66-point win over Richmond at the MCG on Sunday, hawthornfc.com.au takes a look at the five main points to take out of the game.

1. Rioli gets rewarded
He might be remembered mostly for his flashy goals and lightning speed through the middle but Cyril Rioli is also a player who works just as hard when he doesn’t have the ball as he does when he has it.

In the first half of Sunday’s win over Richmond, Rioli played a role in a number of Hawthorn scores as he, Paul Puopolo and Bradley Hill in particular forced a number of Tiger turnovers. His pressure is among the best in the league and although he didn’t have a goal to his name at half time, was one of the most influential players on the ground.

But in the second half, all that hard work was rewarded with four brilliant goals in the third quarter that broke the game apart and made him the game’s most influential player for a different reason.

After watching his first half, where his stats didn’t reflect his influence, it was exciting to see the Hawks dynamo get the recognition he deserves and the reward for his hard work.

2. Bradley Hill’s work rate is enormous
When players are lightning quick and are in the team for their run and carry, sometimes the work that leads to that exciting moment is missed and that is true for the way Hill goes about his footy.

So far in 2014, Hill has averaged 21 disposals and is one of Hawthorn’s most exciting prospects – he has raised his disposal average by five (he averaged 16 disposals in 24 games last year). In fact, he has had 22 or more touches in each of his six games to start the season.

What has made that improvement possible though, is his work rate off the ball. He broke the beep test record at the Draft Combine in 2011, so he arrived at the Club with elite endurance and he has built on that in his three seasons with Hawthorn.

That endurance allows him to get from contest to contest and to work harder and longer than his opponent to make himself an option to teammates more often during games. One piece of play on Sunday against the Tigers demonstrated that ability, as he was involved with Paul Puopolo on the MCC Members Wing, then sprinted forward to receive a handball and sprint away from his opponent before taking a couple of bounces and delivering to Rioli who kicked the third of his four goals for the quarter.

That is exactly the type of play that is making Bradley Hill, despite having played only 35 games, stand out as a future Hawthorn star.

3. Hawks are disciplined
What makes a good football team? Obviously you need to have midfielders who win the ball and have good skills to hit up teammates, dangerous forwards who can mark and kick goals and defenders who can stop their man one-on-one. But above that, and something that will expose those three areas if you don’t have it is team defence and the ability to move with your opposition.

Richmond struggled to score on Sunday because they either turned the ball over in the midfield or their forward 50 entries were thwarted by a diligent and stingy Hawk defence. But it wasn’t their foot skills that let them down (Richmond went at 73 per cent), it was the pressure applied by a well-drilled Hawthorn team that adjusted its full ground defence to the countless switches of play the Tigers tried to get some space.

Every time the Tigers went one way, Hawthorn just shifted their full-ground defence to cut them off and time and time again forced the turnover.

Hawthorn also forced them to kick over their mark rather than create an overlap of run, something the Tigers and most teams rely on to be at their most dangerous selves. Hawthorn didn’t allow them to be creative with the footy, at all.

Even after winning the premiership last year, Alastair Clarkson and his coaches would be thrilled to see that commitment to defence from the players.

4. Hale hits his straps
David Hale has had a quiet-ish start to the season, kicking four goals in the opening five games but twice having less than 10 disposals. He had taken a back seat because of the performances of his fellow forwards like Luke Breust, Jack Gunston and Jarryd Roughead but on Sunday, had his time to shine.

He kicked two goals, had 14 disposals, 14 hit outs and most importantly, took four marks inside 50 and kicked two goals.

Although his goal kicking can let him down at times, when he’s on song and in form, Hale is one olf the game’s most dangerous second ruckmen and is critical to Hawthorn’s plans for the season. He is capable of kicking a bag of goals because he can take a big contested mark or get separation on his opponent on the lead and expose them that way. Sunday’s performance was a step forward for him.

5. The general is back
He patrols the defence and marshalls his troops like none other and Luke Hodge returned to his best on Sunday afternoon with a best-on-ground performance (alongside Rioli).

The Hawthorn skipper played in defence and in the midfield and set the tone for the day with a hard, tough, in-and-under and courageous performance by dropping in the space in front of Richmond’s forwards to make it near impossible for them to score.

His on-field leadership is his biggest asset, his ability to win the ball and use it well is just a bonus. He’s almost like an on-field coach because he reads the game and the play so well and it’s little wonder why Hawthorn put in such a strong defensive performance when Hodge was at his best on Sunday.

Hodge finished the game with 30 disposals, seven clearances, six one percenters, four inside 50s and two goals.