SYDNEY SWANS    5.2    9.2   13.4   16.4 (100)
HAWTHORN   2.2    7.5   11.6   17.10 (112)

GOALS: Sydney Swans: White 3, Parker 3, Rohan 2, Bolton, K. Jack, Mitchell, McGlynn, Pyke, Mumford, Morton
Hawthorn: Roughead 4, Franklin 2, Breust 2, Gunston 2, Birchall, Lewis, Hale, Mitchell, Puopolo, Anderson, Lake

BEST: Sydney Swans: Mumford, White, McVeigh, O'Keefe, Parker, Kennedy
Hawthorn: Lewis, Sewell, Roughead, Birchall, Burgoyne, Puopolo

Hawthorn secured the minor premiership and a follow-up battle against Sydney with a hard-fought 12-point victory against the Swans on Friday night.

It was a nice tune-up for the Hawks ahead of the 2013 Finals Series, tested by a Sydney team determined to show they’re not yet a spent force.

Sydney’s pressure

The Hawks saw first-hand what will come at in the Qualifying Final on Friday night, with Sydney’s pressure and intensity around the ball like finals footy.

Sydney’s pressure was ferocious, with often with two or three players confronting the ball carrier and forcing the Hawks to use the ball by hand rather than foot.

Hawthorn is a team who love to use their kicking skills, and Sydney’s pressure didn’t allow them to get any relief by taking a mark to slow the play down.

The Swans were on track for 100 tackles for the game after laying 22 in the opening term, and their ability to force the turnover meant they dominated the inside 50s.

Sydney had 15 inside 50s to Hawthorn’s eight at quarter time and had a healthy three-goal lead at the first break.

Their pressure didn’t let up either, finishing the match with 81 tackles to Hawthorn’s 71.

Hawks respond to the challenge

For the second week running, the Hawks were tested by its opponent and were forced to re-evaluate at half time to change the momentum of the game.

The Swans were on top in the contested footy and clearances at half time, two areas in which Hawthorn were able to get on top in the second half, just like it did against North Melbourne the previous week.

Getting first hands on the footy is crucial, particularly when playing against a team like Sydney and Hawthorn stood up to the challenge in the second half and was the reason why the game turned in Hawthorn’s favour.

Brad Sewell (14 contested possessions), Paul Puopolo (14), Shaun Burgoyne (13) and David Hale (13) were the four who won the ball in close in the midfield, along with a big role from Jordan Lewis who finished the game with 21 touches – nine of which were contested.

Once the Hawks got on top in the clinches, it was able to get its running game going and work the ball into space to carry it forward.

The Hawks ended the match with 227 uncontested possessions to Sydney’s 197, but it was the way they used the ball that was telling.

Hawthorn raised its disposal efficiency from mid-60s to 71.6 at the final siren, and made the most of their clean possession forward of centre.

Forwards stand up

Despite having just eight inside 50s in the opening term, the Hawks still managed four scoring shots (for 2.2) – a 50 per cent scoring ratio when inside the forward 50.

The Hawks finished with 51 inside 50s and 27 scoring shots – a better than 50 per cent conversion inside the scoring arc.

Jarryd Roughead did most of the damage with four goals, while Lance Franklin, Luke Breust and Jack Gunston all chipped in with two goals each. David Hale also kicked one along with Paul Puopolo and Jed Anderson who spent time up forward.

An accurate return of 17.10 also held the Hawks in good stead, given the excellent conversion of Sydney who kicked 16.4.

The Hawks took 17 marks inside 50 to eight, highlighting the dominance of the forwards over the Sydney defence and the excellent delivery received from the midfielders.

Unpredictable Swans

When Kurt Tippett was a late withdrawal for Sydney, many would have believed there was no way the Swans could kick a winning score against the Hawks given the form of the big forward in the second half of the year.

Heading into the game, Tippett had kicked more goals than any other player in the competition since Round 14 and the Swans had become somewhat reliant on his ability to kick bags of goals.

But without their big forward, Sydney’s lesser lights stood up and send a timely reminder to the Hawks in the lead-up to Friday night’s Qualifying Final, that they too can be damaging and are capable of kicking bags of goals.

Jesse White and Luke Parker bagged three each, while Gary Rohan pushed forward from the wing to kick two. Jude Bolton, Ben McGlynn, Mike Pyke, and Mitch Morton all kicked goals too.

What the coaches said

Hawthorn’s Alastair Clarkson: “I didn’t think we played particularly well, I thought Sydney were the better side on the night.

“We weren’t particularly pleased in the way we played in the first half of the game, they beat us in contested possession and clearances.

“(But) we’re pleased we could win interstate, it’s hard to win up here and particularly against Sydney.”

“We found a way somehow in the end to win the game so that was pleasing.”

Sydney’s John Longmire: “I thought we had a lot of positives come out of the game even though we got beaten on the scoreboard.

"We were minus-30 in the tackles last week and we were plus-14 or so tonight (81-69).

"That was a really good start, and I thought our first half in particular our ability to cause some turnovers and score on those turnovers were good.”