Hawthorn has beaten West Coast nine times in Perth, most recently in Round 23 last season.
Seven of the wins were at Subiaco, one at the WACA Ground and one in the two clubs only previous meeting at Optus Stadium.
Big Hawthorn winning margins have been common, with victories by 71 points (in both 1994 and 2008), 53 points (1988), 50 points (2013) and 38 points (2019).
Six of Hawthorn’s nine wins versus the Eagles in Perth were in years when the Hawks went onto win the Flag. Overall, the two clubs have played 52 times, with Hawthorn winning 24 and losing 28.
Hawthorn’s most important win against the Eagles in Perth was the 1991 Qualifying Final.
It was the first ever Final played outside Victoria and West Coast, which had finished on top with a 19-3 record, were firm favourites against a Hawthorn team that had recovered from a slow start to clinch second with a 16-6 record. It was the first year of the Final Six and the Qualifying Final winner would go into the Second Semi against the winner of third versus fourth, while the loser would play a First Semi against the winner of fifth versus sixth.
The Hawks conceded the first two goals and lost Dermott Brereton to injury, but then gradually gained a slight ascendancy, leading by 11 points at half time and nine points at the final change. The game remained in the balance until late in the final term when the Hawks kicked away to win by 23 points – 18.16.124 to 15.11.101.
Stephen Lawrence was clearly BOG, not just dominating the ruck contests with 30 hit-outs, but also amassing a staggering 30 disposals, 14 marks and a crucial long goal. Several of the midfielders were also highly effective including Darrin Pritchard (27 disposals), Ben Allan (26), Anthony Condon (26), Andrew Gowers (24) and John Platten (23), while Paul Dear was outstanding in filling Brereton’s shoes.
Hawthorn’s most surprising win against the Eagles in Perth was in Round 5 1994, in fact, it ranks as one of the most stunning form reversals in Hawthorn history.
After a win in Round 1, the 1994 Hawks had lost their next three matches to Melbourne, North Melbourne and Carlton by a combined margin of 268 points. Few gave the last-placed Hawthorn any chance of victory in a match against the high-flying Eagles in Perth.
However, the return from injury of Jason Dunstall, Chris Langford and Jason Taylor transformed the team and, after a slow start, the Hawks stunned the home crowd by taking complete control, winning by 71 points - 19.15.129 to 8.10.58. Dunstall kicked five goals and, in an amazing debut, Tim Hargreaves kicked four. Anthony Condon (30 disposals), Darren Jarman (25) and Paul Cooper (23) led a dominant midfield.
Last Monday night’s game against Fremantle was the first time for 25 years that Hawthorn has lost a game after restricting an opponent to a score under 50 (Fremantle kicked 7.6.48). The previous example was at Waverley in Round 3 1995 when Hawthorn 5.4.34 lost to Richmond 4.16.40.
The Fremantle game was just the ninth instance of this happening in Hawthorn history, but only the third since 1960. On the other hand, Hawthorn has won six games when kicking a score below 50, most recently in Round 12 1977 when, in very wet conditions at Ardent Street, the Hawks defeated North Melbourne 6.12.48 to 6.11.47.
The game ended in dramatic circumstances when North’s Malcolm Blight was pushed in the back when shooting for goal. He registered a behind, which would have leveled the scores, but was given the option of another kick. He proceeded to kick out-on-the-full, giving Hawthorn a one-point win.
The shorter quarters in 2020 are obviously a contributing factor to lower scoring. The aggregate score of the two teams on Monday was 80, the equal fifth-lowest scoring game in which Hawthorn has played. The lowest was the 1995 game versus Richmond (see above) with an aggregate of 74, The next lowest were 75 (1956), 76 (1925), 77 (1954) and another 80 (1926).
This week will be Hawthorn’s first Round 12 game since 2017, having had byes in this round in both 2018 and 2019. In the Clarkson era, the Hawks have a good record in Round 12 winning nine of 13 games. However, the club’s overall record in Round 12 games is not as impressive, with 41 wins and 52 losses in 93 games.
10 years ago, in Round 12 2010, Hawthorn had a comfortable 47-point victory against Adelaide in Launceston – 19.10.124 to 11.11.77. Luke Hodge (32 disposals and three goals), and Cyril Rioli (27 disposals and three goals), were both outstanding.
20 years ago, in Round 12 2000, Hawthorn played its first game at Docklands, defeating Fremantle by 61 points – 19.7.121 to 8.14.62. Shane Crawford, Nick Holland and Nathan Thompson all kicked three goals, while Daniel Harford and Tony Woods were the leading possession-getters.
Jason Dunstall holds the individual goal-kicking record for Hawthorn in Round 12 – with 11 at Carrara in 1987, which he later equaled against Sydney at the SCG in 1994. Jarryd Roughead set a new club record of eight goals against West Coast in Launceston in 2014, passing Dunstall, who had kicked seven against the Eagles in both 1988 and 1989.
