Sam Mitchell is poised to become the first person to wear the iconic Hawthorn number 5 jumper in 200 VFL-AFL games.
Mitchell has now played 199 games in number 5, having worn number 28 in his first 30 games in 2002-03 before moving to number 5 at the start of the 2004 season.
The player who carried the number the most times before Mitchell was the man who gave the number its iconic status, the late Peter Crimmins, who died so tragically aged just 28, just days after the 1976 Grand Final win. Crimmins wore number 5 in all of his 176 games. After Crimmins’ passing the number was retired for many years before, in 1993, Andy Collins was given the honour of wearing it, which he did until his 1996 retirement, followed by Daniel Harford from 1997 to 2003.
Hawthorn has had 27 200-game players and the number 5 will be the 15th number to have been worn 200 times by an individual. Five numbers (2, 9, 15, 24 and 34) have had two different players wear it in 200 games. Collins (who wore the numbers 40 and 4, as well as 5) is one of four Hawthorn 200 gamers who did not play at least 200 games of their career games in one jumper number.
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Matthew Spangher has become the 26th individual who has previously played for two other VFL-AFL clubs to debut for Hawthorn. Brent Guerra (146 games) has played the most games for the Hawks having previously played for two other clubs, having gone past Tony Woods (142 games) earlier this season.
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One eagle-eyed observer spotted that the final score of 140-57 against GWS on Saturday was the same as the score in the 1983 Grand Final victory against Essendon.
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A victory against Gold Coast on Sunday will equal Hawthorn’s best sequence of commencing results against a new opponent.
The only club which Hawthorn has previously beaten on four consecutive occasions from the first match was Brisbane, before suffering a shock defeat at Carrara in the two clubs’ fifth meeting. Apart from the two Queensland clubs, the only other opponents against which Hawthorn has a debut winning sequence of more than one are Fremantle and GWS with two. Other clubs which the Hawks commenced against with a single win were Footscray and Port Adelaide.
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Hawthorn’s two previous home games against Gold Coast, at Aurora Stadium in 2011 and the MCG in 2012, produced very similar outcomes. The Hawks kicked the exactly same score of 19.15.129 in both games, against 8.10.58 and 10.5.65, making margins of 71 and 64 points. The one away game against the Suns, at Carrara in Round 24 2011, was a much tighter affair as, with several senior players rested, the Hawks snuck home by 9 points – 16.10.106 to 14.13.97.
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Hawthorn has played 88 matches in Round 9 for 40 wins and 48 defeats. The Hawks won five consecutive Round 9 matches from 2007 to 2011, before suffering a shock 62 point loss to Richmond in Round 9 last season.
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5 years ago, in Round 9 2008, Hawthorn completed its 9th consecutive win to start the season, breaking the previous record of 8 set in 2001. The Hawks had to work hard to do it as they trailed Port Adelaide at Aurora Stadium by 32 points at quarter time and 17 at the long interval, before eventually securing a 15 point win – 17.15.117 to 15.12.102. Lance Franklin kicked 6 goals and Jarryd Roughead 3, while Jordan Lewis (36 disposals), Brad Sewell (34) and Chance Bateman (29) were outstanding midfielders.
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25 years ago, in Round 9 1988, Hawthorn thrashed Footscray by 89 points at Princes Park – 23.16.154 to 9.11.65. Jason Dunstall kicked 8 goals and Gary Buckenara had 35 disposals, but it was Paul Abbott who secured the 3 Brownlow votes. Another to perform well for the Hawks was former North Melbourne player and current AFL boss Andrew Demetriou, who had 30 disposals. Demetriou had made his Hawthorn debut the previous week against West Coast and played one further game against St Kilda the following week.
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50 years ago in Round 9 1963, Hawthorn had a third consecutive game decided by 6 points or fewer. After a draw at Geelong and a 4 point win at St Kilda, the Hawks beat Carlton at Glenferrie by 6 points – 9.6.60 to 7.12.54. A crowd of 25,300 saw John Peck once again be the decisive player, as he contributed 6 of the Hawks’ 9 goals.
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Luke Bruest holds the record for the most goals in a game against Gold Coast kicking 5 at Carrara in Round 24 2011. Peter Hudson holds the Round 9 record, booting 10, in a 30 point victory over Fitzroy at Glenferrie, in this round in 1968.
