HAWTHORN 2.7 4.8 11.11 15.14 (104)
SYDNEY SWANS 2.3 5.9 9.14 13.16 (94)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Roughead 4, Breust 3, Smith 3, Puopolo 2, Gunston, Burgoyne, Hodge
Sydney Swans: Goodes 4, Franklin 3, McGlynn 3, Tippett 2, Kennedy
BEST
Hawthorn: Lewis, Roughead, Smith, Hodge, Mitchell, Birchall, Shiels
Sydney Swans: McGlynn, Goodes, Franklin, Rampe, Bird, Jack, Jetta
INJURIES
Hawthorn: Nil
Sydney Swans: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Hawthorn: Alex Woodward replaced Jonathon Ceglar in the third quarter
Sydney Swans: Dean Towers replaced Heath Grundy at three-quarter time
Official crowd: 72,760 at the MCG
The teams
HAWTHORN
B: Angus Litherland, Josh Gibson, Ryan Schoenmakers
HB: Luke Hodge, Ben Stratton, Grant Birchall
C: Isaac Smith, Sam Mitchell, Matthew Suckling
HF: Bradley Hill, Jack Gunston, Luke Breust
F: Paul Puopolo, Jarryd Roughead, Jordan Lewis
Fol: Ben McEvoy, Shaun Burgoyne, Liam Shiels
I/C: Jonathan Simpkin, Jonathon Ceglar, Alex Woodward, Will Langford
Emerg: Taylor Duryea, Ben Ross, David Hale
SYDNEY
B: Jeremy Laidler, Ted Richards, Nick Smith
HB: Nick Malceski, Heath Grundy, Dane Rampe
C: Lewis Jetta, Josh Kennedy, Gary Rohan
HF: Ben McGlynn, Lance Franklin, Adam Goodes
F: Sam Reid, Kurt Tippett, Luke Parker
Fol: Mike Pyke, Kieren Jack, Jarrad McVeigh
I/C: Craig Bird, Harry Cunningham, Jake Lloyd, Dean Towers
Emerg: Brandon Jack, Tim Membrey, Toby Nankervis
A seven-goal to four third quarter helped the Hawks record their first win over Sydney for 2014 in Round 18 but it wasn’t easy.
The Hawks fell behind by as much as 23 points seven minutes into the third term before goals to Luke Breust, Jack Gunston and Isaac Smith sparked a Hawthorn comeback.
Alastair Clarkson’s team kicked 11 of the last 15 goals to finish 10-point winners, with Jordan Lewis the star with 35 disposals, seven inside 50s and five clearances.
While the Hawks looked headed for a second straight defeat at the hands of the Swans after the Round 8 loss, it was a turnaround in the midfield that saw them ultimately turn the result around.
At half time the Swans led the clearances 11-17, then had the first five clearances of the second half (11-22) to set up a 23-point lead.
From there though, the Hawks switched on and dominated the midfield battle. The Swans had just 11 more clearances for the game from the five-minute mark of the third quarter.
The Hawks had 10 of the next 13 clearances of the third quarter and had 14 in the last term to Sydney’s eight to win the clearances 35-33.
Sam Mitchell led the way in the contest, finishing with six clearances for the game – three of which came in the last quarter – while Jordan Lewis had five (two in the last term).
Ben McEvoy was also pivotal with four clearances on the night.
Jarryd Roughead starred up forward for the Hawks with four goals, while Breust and Smith chipped in with three and Paul Puopolo two, including a brilliant running effort on the eve of half time.
For Sydney, Josh Kennedy was outstanding against his old side with 25 disposals, seven inside 50s and four clearances, while Craig Bird snuck under the radar to also pick up 25 disposals and seven clearances.
Adam Goodes led the way up forward with four goals and Lance Franklin kicked three against his old side but most of his damage was inflicted in the first half.
Former teammate Josh Gibson had Buddy’s measure in the second half, a key reason behind Hawthorn’s ability to eventually win the game.
What the coaches said
Hawthorn’s Alastair Clarkson: "Our resilience and perseverance just to hang in there when things weren't working out for us too well early in the third quarter (was important) to turn the game around.
"I'm sure our players will get a lot of confidence out of being able to cope with that sort of situation."
Sydney’s John Longmire: "I didn't think a lot of our players had great games. In the end, I thought they deserved to win.
"I thought we were OK in patches, but I thought they were a little bit more consistent over the course of the game, and they had a few more better players than us."
