Hawthorn  5.2  10.4  13.6  18.10 (118)
Fremantle 0.2  5.4  8.8  11.10 (76)

Goals: Hawthorn: Franklin 4, Roughead 4, Rioli 3, Burgoyne 2, Breust 2, Birchall, Lewis, Franklin
Fremantle: Bradley 3, Mayne 2, Mundy, Sutcliffe, Crowley, Mayne, Walters, Neale

Best: Hawthorn: Burgoyne, Rioli, Birchall, Mitchell, Stratton, Bailey, Franklin
Fremantle: Fyfe, Barlow, Mundy, Mayne, Walters, Bradley

Unbelievably, Hawthorn and Fremantle last met all the way back in Round 4 at Aurora Stadium in Tasmania.

On that day, the undermanned Dockers were no match for the Hawks, whose midfield put in a powerful performance to lead the team to a 42-point victory.

Fremantle was without stars Matthew Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands and Luke McPharlin, while the Hawks were dealt a blow in the second term with young full back Ryan Schoenmakers rupturing his ACL and taking no further part in the match.

It was a balanced and solid performance from the Hawks, who looked in control from the opening bounce thanks to the ability of the midfield to win the ball at the stoppages.

A five goal blitz in the first quarter set up the win, with Fremantle failing to pose any threat forward of centre, failing to kick a goal.

But the game was by no means an easy one for Hawthorn, with the Dockers midfield battling and winning the contest after quarter time, the only issue was their undermanned forward line was no match for a stingy Hawthorn defence.

At one stage in the first quarter, Hawthorn had won seven clearances to two, but had that strength taken away from it in the second quarter.

With four minutes remaining in the second term, Fremantle had won 12 clearances to 3 to take a 21 to 17 advantage in that area at half time.

By the end of the game, Fremantle had won the clearances 42-36.

Fremantle also managed to get their hands on the footy in contested situations after quarter time by  winning the hard ball in the second term 40-35 and breaking even in the third, 34-35.

It was one area the Dockers were outplayed in in the first term (36-24), but were able to improve over the course of the game and the reason why the game was such a hard-fought one after quarter time despite the scoreboard suggesting otherwise.

Jarryd Roughead did the damage up forward for the Hawks with 21 possessions, four goals and eight marks, while Cyril Rioli and Luke Breust were also dangerous as small forwards.

Rioli kicked three and Breust continued his good form playing as a small forward who splits his time in the midfield - he gathered 21 possessions and kicked two goals.

Shaun Burgoyne and Grant Birchall were also two of Hawthorn’s best, with the latter gathering 37 possessions at 81 per cent efficiency. He also took 12 marks.

Burgoyne on the other hand was again ‘Mr. Fix It’ for the Hawks as he spent time up forward, in the middle and down back throughout the game.

He kicked two goals, gathered 28 disposals; laid three tackles had four clearances and six inside 50s. His efficiency, 89 per cent – it was a commanding performance from the Hawks utility.

For Fremantle, it was their dynamic trio in the midfield who fired, with Nat Fyfe, Michael Barlow and David Mundy among their best.

They were the three top disposal getters for the Dockers, with Fyfe gathering 27 touches (17 of which were contested), along with 11 clearances and six inside 50s.

Mundy had 26 along with five clearances and six inside 50s while Barlow had 25 disposals (15 contested) and seven clearances.

What the coaches said

Hawthorn’s Alastair Clarkson: "I don't think the game rose to any great heights today, but we're really pleased to bank the four points.

“A six- or seven-goal win against Fremantle at any stage is a good result for us, so we're pleased by and large by our effort today.”

Fremantle’s Ross Lyon: ”We've got lack of effort, you're talking about absences, how about we played a very good football team today.

"They're sitting on top of the ladder, they played in the Grand Final, dominated every statistical indicator, they're pretty fit and healthy.”