The 1982 Windy Hill last quarter in which Matthews broke the post also saw Hawthorn come from 19 points down to win by 18 points, in large part due to Matthews brilliance.
It was a crucial game between the teams which were third and fourth on the ladder (both with 12-5 records). After a strong opening term the Hawks had lost control of the game in the middle two quarters to trail 11.8 to 8.7 at the final change.
A Michael Tuck goal cut the margin to 13 points at the start of the final quarter and then, in the words of Geoff Slattery in his match report in The Age, “Matthews took over”. He kicked the next two goals and “from that point there was no way Hawthorn could lose the match, such was Matthews’ influence on his teammates”. Slattery wrote of Matthews that the way he “grits those teeth, sets that jaw, and runs full pace at the ball, is one of the great joys of sport”. His single mindedness meant that he had no idea he had broken the behind post.
After the 7.3 to 1.2 last quarter, Hawthorn won the game 15.10.100 to 12.10.82, with Russell Greene, Terry Wallace and David O’Halloran the best players.
Jarryd Roughead is now very close to moving into the top ten Hawthorn goalkickers of all time. His 287 career goals now have him in 11th place, having recently moved past Ben Dixon (282). The player currently in 10th position is Gary Buckenara on 293.
Hawthorn has twice recorded sequences of six consecutive wins against Essendon - 1987-89 and 2005-08. Overall, the two clubs have played 153 times - the Hawks winning 58 and losing 95. In Round 13 2010, Hawthorn broke a three game losing streak against Essendon and made it consecutive wins with a 65 point victory in Round 14 last season.
Hawthorn and Essendon have clashed at Docklands on five previous occasions with the Bombers holding a 3-2 advantage. None of the games have been close with Essendon’s three wins being by 83 points (2000), 65 (2001) and 44 (2009), while the Hawks won by 18 (2006) and 51 (2008). It is worth noting that in the 2006 win, Hawthorn led by 61 points at half-time, before slowing down in the second half. Two of the five have attracted 50,000 plus crowds - the largest was 50,701 in 2001.
On the subject of attendances, last Saturday’s crowd of 83,714 versus Collingwood was the fourth biggest ever to watch a Hawthorn home and away game. The only three larger crowds were 92,935 (Collingwood, Waverley, 1981); 86,179 (Geelong, MCG, 2008) and 83,985 (Collingwood, MCG, 2011). Eight of Hawthorn’s top ten home and away attendances have been recorded in the last five seasons.
As foreshadowed in last week’s column, Hawthorn has now equalled the 78 year old VFL-AFL record for most consecutive wins by more than 40 points. South Melbourne set the original record, but at least one pessimist has pointed out that South failed to win the Flag in that 1934 season.
Hawthorn played 53 games at Essendon’s former home ground of Windy Hill between 1926 and 1986, recording 18 wins and 35 losses. However, until the late 1960s, Hawthorn had achieved just six wins at the venue, including victories in the year the Hawks first made the Finals in 1957 and first Premiership season of 1961. Yet, in their last 17 games at Windy Hill the Hawks pulled off 12 wins, including six in a row from 1974 to 1979.
Five years ago, in Round 18 2007, Hawthorn had a home game against Essendon at the MCG. It was the last time the Hawks faced a Kevin Sheedy coached Essendon and just as had happened in the first meeting against Sheedy in 1981, the Hawks won.
In fact the 5th placed Hawks thrashed the 8th placed Bombers by 63 points - Hawthorn 17.17.119 to Essendon 7.14.56. Lance Franklin kicked 4 goals and Jarryd Roughead 3, while the leading disposal getters were Jordan Lewis 30, Sam Mitchell 29 and Grant Birchall 28. Another highlight of the day was Stephen Gilham kicking his first goal in his 22nd game for the Hawks.
20 years ago, in Round 18 1992, Hawthorn beat North Melbourne by 37 points at Waverley - 20.13.133 to 14.12.96. Darren Jarman was in scintillating form collecting 36 disposals and 4 goals.
40 years ago, in Round 18 1972, Hawthorn thrashed lowly South Melbourne by 59 points at Lakeside Oval, with 7 goals from 19 year old Michael Moncrieff and 6 goals from 20 year old Leigh Matthews.
Hawthorn has played 84 Round 18 matches (there were no Round 18’s in 1925, 1942 or 1943) for the poor return of 33 wins and 51 defeats. The two worst sequences of Round 18 defeats were 12, from 1944 to 1955, and 6 from 2001 to 2006. The latter was mercifully ended by the 63 point win over Essendon at the MCG in 2007 (see above), followed by a 54 win over Collingwood in 2008. After further Round 18 losses in 2009 and 2010 (both times against Port Adelaide at Football Park), last season the Hawks scored a comfortable 54 point win against Melbourne at the MCG.
Leading individual goals records by Hawthorn players against Essendon are 12 by Jason Dunstall in 1992, 11 by Leigh Matthews in 1973 and 10 by Michael Moncrieff in 1972. Before Lance Franklin’s bag of 13 against North earlier this year, it had been 15 years since a Hawthorn player kicked 10 goals in a game. In the intervening period there were three bags of 9, all against Essendon - by Dunstall in 1998 and Franklin in both 2007 and 2008.
Peter Hudson holds the Round 18 record with a tally of 9, kicked in 1970. His 9 came out of a team total of only 11, as the Hawks lost to St Kilda at Glenferrie by 25 points. The previous highest before Hudson had come 30 years earlier when Jim Bohan kicked 8 in 1940.
