Round 10’s 115-point win over North Melbourne and Sunday’s 162-point thrashing of GWS is the first pair of such wins since the Hawks beat Fitzroy twice in 1991, by 157 points and 126 points. The only other seasons which have produced two such victories have been 1977, 1983, 1986 and 1987.
Overall, Hawthorn has won 23 games by 100 or more points, compared to 19 such losses, which is a great turnaround from the 0-13 record the club had at the end of 1969.
The 162 point win was the second biggest in Hawthorn’s history behind only the 165 point margin against Port Adelaide last season. Two of Hawthorn’s three biggest wins have now been against teams coached by Kevin Sheedy, the club’s third biggest being by 160 points against Essendon in 1992.
Lance Franklin has become the fifth Hawthorn player to reach the 500 goal mark doing so in his 156th game, the third quickest to do so.
Peter Hudson reached the milestone in his 87th game with the last of 5 goals against Collingwood at Glenferrie in Round 10 1971, while Jason Dunstall did so with the 4th of 8 goals versus Brisbane Bears at Princes Park in his 113th game.
The other two Hawks to kick 500 were Michael Moncrieff, whose 500th also came in a bag of 8, in a 53 point loss to Footscray at the Western Oval in 1980 in his 181st game; while Leigh Matthews also reached the milestone in a loss against Carlton in Round 17 1978, in his 189th game in which he booted 4 goals.
Hawthorn had 14 individual goal-kickers against GWS, the third highest in club history. The Hawks had 16 individual goal-kickers against St Kilda in Round 14 2000, equalling a record set by Essendon in 1988 and subsequently also equalled by West Coast in 2005. Last season the Hawks had 15 goal-kickers in the 165 point win against Port Adelaide.
Sunday’s score of 28.25 was just the fourth time in Hawthorn history when a score has reached both 25 goals and 25 behinds. The only other such scores were 25.41 (v St Kilda, 1977), 28.26 (v Footscray 1982) and 28.27 (v Fitzroy 1991).
GWS’s score of 4.7.31 was the lowest to which Hawthorn has kept an opponent since restricting the Brisbane Bears to 2.5.17 in 1988.
Hawthorn goes into this week’s game with a narrow lead over the Bulldogs on the head-to-head history, 76-75, with 2 draws, having hit the front with a pair of wins last season. The close head-to-head record is remarkable when, in Premierships, the Hawks lead 10-1, and are ahead 15-2 in Grand Final appearances. It is explained by the fact that while both teams struggled in their early years after joining the League, Footscray were significantly better than Hawthorn. Then, in the 1970s and 1980s, when the Hawks were strong, an upset loss to the Bulldogs was always on the cards.
In the seven seasons from 2004 to 2010 the Bulldogs won 7 of the 11 meetings between the two clubs, in each case the first (or only) match between of those seven seasons. The four times the clubs met for a second time in the season, in Round 19 2004, Round 21 2007, the 2008 Qualifying Final and Round 14 2010 the Hawks were victorious. The trend ended last season when the Hawks won both at Docklands in Round 10 by 29 points and at the MCG in Round 23 by 46 points.
This is the first of only two games the Hawks are scheduled to play at Docklands in 2012. To the end of 2011, Hawthorn had played 52 games at the venue for 27 wins, 24 losses and the memorable draw against St Kilda in 2010.
Traditionally Round 16 has been a good round for Hawthorn recording 45 wins and 42 losses. However, the Hawks lost five consecutive Round 16 games from 2004 to 2008, before getting back on track with wins in the past three seasons with victories against Collingwood at the MCG in 2009 and Brisbane Lions at Aurora Stadium in both of the last two seasons.
More notably, Hawthorn has an outstanding record in Round 16 in years ending in 2, not having lost in it since 1942. The past six have all produced victories.
10 years ago, in Round 16 2002, Hawthorn made it four wins in a row with a 26 point win against Melbourne at the MCG. The Hawks were lucky to be level at half-time, as their 5.4 tied Melbourne’s 4.10, but got on top with a 5.2 to 1.1 third quarter. Nick Holland was outstanding with 12 marks and 3 goals, while Adrian Cox and Daniel Chick also booted 3, and Steven Greene was the leading possession getter with 31 disposals.
20 years ago, in Round 16 1992, 6th placed Hawthorn scored an upset win against ladder-leader Geelong at Kardinia Park. Darrin Pritchard had 40 disposals, Ben Allan 31 and Anthony Condon 28, while Jason Dunstall kicked 9 goals, including his 100th for the season.
30 years ago, in Round 16 1982, Hawthorn kicked a new VFL-AFL record first quarter score of 13.3, a record which stood until Essendon managed 15.4 against Gold Coast last season. Hawthorn went on to win the high-scoring game - 32.14.206 to 15.22.112. Leigh Matthews kicked 7 goals, Gary Buckenara and Michael Byrne both booted 5 and John Kennedy 4, while Michael Tuck and Terry Wallace both had 34 disposals.
40 years ago, in Round 16 1972, Hawthorn consolidated 4th position on the ladder with a 41 point victory over Footscray at the Western Oval. Peter Crimmins kicked 4 goals, while Bob Keddie, Peter Knights and Alan Martello all booted 3.
50 years ago, in Round 16 1962 accurate goal-kicking helped Hawthorn to a 17 point win over Richmond at Punt Road - 15.4.94 to 11.11.77. The multiple goal-kickers were John Peck 5, Graham Arthur 4 and Ian Law 2.
60 years ago, in Round 16 1952, 11th placed Hawthorn scored a major upset by beating 4th placed South Melbourne at the Lakeside Oval - 9.14.68 to 6.14.50. Pat Cash kicked 4 goals.
The win proved extremely costly for the Swans as they missed out on a place in the Final Four by just half a game, the closest they came to making the Finals in their long Finals’ drought between 1945 and 1970.
The highest individual goal tally kicked by a Hawthorn player against the Bulldogs is 14 by Jason Dunstall in Round 19, 1996 at Waverley. The individual match goal kicking record for Hawthorn in Round 16 is shared by Peter Hudson, Jason Dunstall and Dermott Brereton who kicked 11 in 1970, 1989 and 1990 respectively.
Anyone interested in introducing their children to the history of Hawthorn bring them to the Hawks Museum at the Ricoh Centre these school holidays. While there, you can also become a Friend of the Hawks Museum.
Any inquiries, call Peter Haby on 03 9535 3075 or email hawksmuseum@hawthornfc.com.au
When at the Museum make sure you purchase your copy of Mud, Muscle and Blood: The Story of the 1957 Hawks the first Hawthorn team to contest a Finals Series or Brown N’ Gold Jubilee: The Story of the 61 Hawks, Hawthorn’s first Premiership team.
