West Coast 1.3 6.6 12.6 15.8 (98)
Hawthorn 6.1 11.2 15.7 23.10 (148)
Goals: West Coast: Kennedy 5, J Hill 3, Darling 3, Cripps, Embley, Sinclair, Gaff
Hawthorn: Rioli 4, Franklin 4, Breust 4, Roughead 2, Birchall 2, Hale 2, B Hill 2, Burgoyne, Smith
Best: West Coast: Masten, Priddis, Hill, Shuey, Kennedy
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Hodge, Rioli, Schoenmakers, Gibson, Birchall, Breust
Hawthorn defied the odds on Sunday afternoon as it defeated West Coast in a commanding display at Patersons Stadium.
Coming off a six-day break, the Hawks travelled west and showed no signs of fatigue after a gruelling Round 1 contest against the Cats.
The Hawks had a specific game plan set out by Coach Alastair Clarkson and executed it to perfection.
From the opening minute of the game, the Hawks were slick and precise with their ball movement, ferocious with their pressure and relentless with their attack on the man and the ball.
A hallmark of Hawthorn’s game style last year was their ability to use the ball well across the ground and that effectiveness was back on Sunday as their ball use to set up teammates in space and inside forward 50 gave it the opportunity to kick a winning score.
Despite the Eagles mounting a number of challenges throughout the game, the Hawks showed great mettle and mental strength to withstand the pressure and the impact of a hostile West Coast crowd.
The return of Captain Luke Hodge too, was another positive to come out of the match as he was the general in defence. Hodge gathered 25 disposals across half back and was as courageous and dangerous with ball in hand as ever.
Pleasing too for the Hawks was the effectiveness of its forward set up, with Lance Franklin, Cyril Rioli, Luke Breust, Jarryd Roughead and David Hale combining to kick 16 of the side’s 23 goals for the game.
Early score board pressure
Getting off to a good start by applying score board pressure early is imperative when travelling interstate, but even more important when facing the Eagles in Perth.
With inaccuracy in front of goal costly for Hawthorn in Round 1, an accurate start in front of goal was important for the confidence of the group.
The Hawks took their chances up forward in the opening 30 minutes, while the Eagles struggled in the same area down the other end.
Hawthorn’s kicking efficiency across the ground and particularly to a forward target hurt the Eagles, as they ran at 73.1 per cent to 66.7 and 74 to 71.6 per cent in the opening two quarters.
That meant the Hawks were able to generate shots on goal and when it was an arm wrestle early, the Hawks were able to find teammates in good positions in front of goal.
Hawthorn kicked three goals in the last six minutes of the first quarter and when Shaun Burgoyne and Isaac Smith kicked goals in quick succession, the Hawks found themselves with what proved to be a match-winning lead of 39 points.
Josh Kennedy sparks the Eagles
Gun West Coast forward failed to touch the ball for the opening 42 minutes of the match, well held by Josh Gibson, Ryan Schoenmakers and a Hawthorn defence that was willing to help one another.
But, like any good player, you can’t keep them quiet for long as the star forward sparked a West Coast comeback mid-way through the second quarter.
Kennedy came to life - taking two strong marks inside 50 within 60 seconds to kick two goals in quick succession to spark the Eagles and bring the crowd to life.
The Eagles won three centre clearances in a row on the back of Kennedy’s goals and, when Jack Darling was awarded a free kick within range, Hawthorn’s lead was cut to 14 points within the blink of an eye.
Hawthorn steady
The Eagles had all the momentum with five minutes remaining in the second term, but when the ball returned to the middle after Darling’s goal to reduce the margin to 14, Max Bailey stood up and palmed beautifully to Shaun Burgoyne for a centre clearance that ended deep in Hawthorn’s forward 50.
Paul Puopolo fought hard to keep the ball alive inside 50, and when he handballed to Luke Breust for a goal, the Hawks had the answer.
That goal, against the run of play saw Hawthorn stretch their lead out to 20 points and, when Roughead goaled three minutes later, the Hawks had a healthy 26 point lead at the main break.
The two late goals in time on, coupled with two goals in the opening minute of the third quarter from Cyril Rioli and Lance Franklin evaporated West Coast’s hard work to get back into the game.
In the last five minutes of play, the Hawks had kicked four unanswered goals to steady and once again build an insurmountable lead.
The three-goal barrier
Hawthorn had the answers to each charge mounted by the Eagles on Sunday, never allowing them to get within three goals.
Twice, West Coast cut the margin to 14 and 17 points, but from there, the Hawks responded with interest kicking away to a six-goal lead and in the end, a 50 point victory.
Contested possession
When West Coast fell 38 points behind early in the third quarter, their midfeilders led by Chris Masten and Matt Priddis stepped up to outhunt the Hawthorn midfielders.
In a 10 minute period mid-way through the third quarter, the Eagles won 19 contested possessions to six and got the ball out to their runners. Their good play in the middle was finished by enigmatic forward Josh Hill who kicked three third quarter goals to close the gap.
But, in the end the Hawks reigned supreme in the contested ball, winning the stat 152-141. That hard-ball winning ability enabled them to outrun the Eagles on the spread to deliver in space to their forwards.
Grant Birchall in particular hurt the Eagles through the middle, kicking two goals and gathering 31 possessions to be one of Hawthorn’s best.
Of course, the leader in the contested ball was Sam Mitchell who won seven clearances and gathered 31 disposals off half back and through the midfield to be best on ground and set up Hawthorn’s win.
What the coaches said
Hawthorn’s Alastair Clarkson: “West Coast challenged on numerous occasions throughout the course of the game and got a run on through the second quarter and again in the third quarter.
"For our guys to steady and just withstand those challenges at different courses of the game are really important to us."
West Coast’s John Worsfold: “The inside 50s again, that was the difference.
"Their ability to win the footy and go forward and get it inside 50 compared to ours was far superior.”