Watch the Top 5 Fans' Highlights from Sunday's win.

Hawthorn 4.6 8.12 12.19 19.21 (135)                 
Brisbane Lions 6.1 7.2 8.2 11.4 (70)     

Best: Hawthorn - Burgoyne, Suckling, Puopolo, Franklin, Mitchell, Roughead, Rioli
Brisbane Lions - Zorko, Rockliff, Hudson, Raines, Brown

Crowd: 35,492 at the MCG

Despite an inaccurate opening term and an even first half, the Hawks powered to a 65-point win over Brisbane at the MCG on Sunday. The rain was on and off, and so was the Hawks’ ability to convert in front of goal, kicking six behinds in the first, six in the second, seven in the third and oddly, just two in the final quarter.

The Hawks controlled the game for most of the day, but it was the inability to convert that allowed the Lions to take a seven point lead into quarter time. The Hawks dominated the inside 50s, 18-11 but the Lions were much more efficient heading forward.

The Lions had a disposal efficiency of 76 per cent, compared to Hawthorn’s 69, allowing them to hit up free targets in the 50 and convert their opportunities in front of goal.

Once the Hawks cleaned up their disposal though, the Hawthorn forwards - led by Lance Franklin became increasingly dangerous. By the time the final siren sounded, the Hawks had a disposal efficiency rating of 74 per cent, and forwards Franklin, Jarryd Roughead, Paul Puolpolo, Jack Gunston and Luke Breust finished the match as the Hawks’ multiple goal kickers.

What was most pleasing for the Hawks was their ability to lock the footy in their forward half. In a season-high for the Club, Hawks players laid an incredible 97 tackles, and considering the midfield dominance, that is an impressive effort. Those tackles forced the Lions to turn the ball over, and find a target on 65 per cent of the time, while the Hawks turned those turnovers into forward attacks.

Hawthorn had 71 inside 50s to 41, with an avalanche of forward entries in the second and third quarters in particular. In the third term, when the Hawks put their foot down and built a sizeable lead over the Lions, the Hawks entered their 50 18 times to just eight entries for the Lions. That translated to 13 scoring shots to one in what ended up being the quarter that set up the win.

The pressure the Hawks put on the Lions was immense, and proved too much for a young Lions outfit that would have been confident of causing an upset heading into the match. The Hawks laid 29 tackles in the second, 23 in the third and a massive 31 in the final term, illustrating their desire to win the footy back at all costs.

Shaun Burgoyne’s role in the team has evolved in the last three weeks, since the Hawks were smashed in the middle by the Tigers. Burgoyne has enjoyed more time in the midfield since that game, and has showed why he was one of the best clearance players in the league when at the Power. Burgoyne was best on ground for the Hawks, with 25 possessions, seven tackles, five clearances and two goals.

The Hawks rebounding defenders were at their best again on Sunday, with Matt Suckling and Grant Birchall patrolling the Hawks’ back 50 and not allowing any ball to enter their opponents’ scoring zone. What makes Birchall and Suckling so valuable though, is not only their ability to halt the forward entries, but send the footy back in the Hawks direction. Suckling had 26 possessions at 81 per cent efficiency, while Birchall had 25 at 88 per cent. They combined for 10 of the Hawks’ 29 defensive rebounds.

What Alastair Clarkson said: “We slowly wore them down and were able to get some scoreboard pressure on. Our intent and that sort of stuff was pretty good all day, but the scoreboard didn’t indicate that in the first quarter, but once we got that right, we gradually wore them down.”