Hawthorn 7.1 10.6 11.10 14.11 (95)
West Coast 1.3 4.4 5.7 10.10 (70)
Goals: Hawthorn: Franklin 4, Gunston 3, Breust, Burgoyne, Hale, Hodge, Puopolo, Rioli, Smith
West Coast: Darling 3, McGinnity 2, Schofield 2, Gaff, Hill, Waters
Best: Hawthorn: Birchall, Mitchell, Franklin, Sewell, Hodge, Suckling, Gunston
West Coast: Scott Selwood, Darling, Waters, Shuey, Masten, Cox, Schofield
Official crowd: 50,023 at the MCG
Hawthorn sealed the 2012 minor premiership with a win over West Coast at the MCG in Round 23 the last time these two sides met.
In a much more entertaining contest than the Round 4 clash in Perth where both sides managed just five goals each but 37 behinds between them (21 to the Eagles and 16 for the Hawks), the Hawks triumphed to qualify in first place for the finals, and the Eagles in fifth.
The win was set up in the opening term for the Hawks as they piled on seven goals to one in a blistering opening quarter. The Hawks were harder and tougher at the ball than the Eagles, and their outside run pivotal.
Isaac Smith and Matt Suckling in particular were important in setting up what proved to be a match-winning lead. The Hawks out-spread the Eagles and were able to find space, winning 60 uncontested possessions to 49 for the quarter.
That stat proved costly for the Eagles as their defence was no match for a forward line that had space to work in and, consequently, took seven marks inside 50 for the term.
Lance Franklin booted three opening quarter goals and proved the most damaging forward on the ground with four goals, three goal assists and 14 touches.
The contest evened up after quarter time as the Eagles won their fair share of footy out of the middle to finish the game on top in the clearances, 39 to 35.
Despite having a three-pronged forward set up with Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and a resting Nic Naitanui or Dean Cox, Darling was the only Eagles forward to have any impact, botting three goals.
The Hawks were outscored nine goals to seven after quarter time as the Eagles restricted Hawthorn’s ability to find space on the wings of the MCG. The Eagles won the tackle count 74-60 and forced the Hawks to miss targets around the ground after the first break.
Such was Hawthorn’s dominance in the opening term, that their disposal efficiency ran at 81 per cent for the term but, when the clamps were applied by the Eagles, that dropped to 72 per cent.
In the end though, the Hawks were able to seal a 25-point victory through their ability to restrict the Eagles’ play makers impact on the game and their ability to find the football. Daniel Kerr (21 disposals) and Andrew Gaff (15) had little impact, while Luke Shuey’s efficiency was down at 67 per cent.
Compare those numbers with the Hawthorn’s Grant Birchall (29 disposals), Sam Mitchell (28), Brad Sewell (26) and Matt Suckling (24), key play makers for the Hawks who all had an impact on the contest.
