HAWTHORN has celebrated Alastair Clarkson's 200th game as coach in impressive style with a 20-point win over a plucky West Coast at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

The Hawks' 19.9 (123) to 16.7 (103) win was their 11th in a row, their best winning streak since 1975, but the Eagles made them work for the victory as they put on one of their most spirited displays this season.

Hawthorn's win may have come at a cost, with Paul Puopolo a late withdrawal with muscle tightness, Grant Birchall eventually substituted after carrying a sore knee through much of game and defender Josh Gibson suffering an ankle injury late in the match.

The Eagles' loss drops them from ninth on the ladder to 10th on percentage, and was soured by a second-quarter incident involving veteran Andrew Embley and an Achilles injury to Shannon Hurn.

Embley seems certain to come under scrutiny from the Match Review Panel after appearing to drop his knee into the chest of Hawk Ben Stratton at the 10-minute mark of the second quarter.

Hurn injured his Achilles tendon midway through the first quarter and took no further part in the game.  

The Hawks' win was built on their clinical ball delivery to their forwards and accuracy in front of goal, which allowed them to overcome the Eagles' dominance of clearances (43-37) and inside 50s (57-49).

Jarryd Roughead and Jack Gunston were the chief destroyers inside the Hawks' forward 50, both finishing with 5.1, while Luke Breust was a good foil with three  goals.

Lance Franklin waged an entertaining tussle with West Coast defender Eric Mackenzie. Mackenzie did well to hold Franklin to two goals, but the Hawk star's defensive pressure and attack on the ball was first-rate.

Skipper Luke Hodge was outstanding for the Hawks with 25 possessions, while Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis were important through the midfield.

West Coast have been more like sparrows than Eagles for much of this season, but the pre-season premiership fancy was very good against the Hawks.

Dean Cox was outstanding in the ruck and his stints up forward, finishing with 10 marks, including three contested.

Josh Kennedy kicked five goals to regain the lead in the Coleman Medal race with 39 majors for the season, while midfielders Scott Selwood, Luke Shuey and Matt Priddis were instrumental to the Eagles' dominance of the clearances.

Hawthorn will start a strong favourite to extend its winning streak to 12 when it takes on the Brisbane Lions at Launceston's Aurora Stadium next round, with its real test likely to come in round 15 when it will try to break a 10-game losing streak against Geelong.

HAWTHORN       6.0     12.2    16.4    19.9 (123)
WEST COAST     6.2     7.6      12.7    16.7 (103)

GOALS
Hawthorn: Roughead 5, Gunston 5, Breust 3, Franklin 2, Savage 2, Lewis, Simpkin
West Coast: Kennedy 5, LeCras 2, Shuey 2, Selwood, Naitanui, Masten, Darling, Cox, Dalziell, Priddis
 
BEST 
Hawthorn: Roughead, Hodge, Breust, Lake, Mitchell, Franklin, Gunston
West Coast: Cox, Kennedy, Selwood, Gaff, Shuey, Mackenzie
 
INJURIES 
Hawthorn: Puopolo (tightness) replaced in selected side by Ellis, Birchall (right knee), Gibson (left ankle)
West Coast: Hurn (Achilles)
 
SUBSTITUTES
Hawthorn: Xavier Ellis replaced Grant Birchall during the third quarter
West Coast: Bradd Dalziell replaced Shannon Hurn during the second quarter
 
Reports: Nil
 
Umpires: Nicholls, Meredith, Findlay
 
Official crowd: 32,567 at Etihad Stadium