Ben Stratton is this week scheduled to become the 36^th individual to play 200 games for Hawthorn. 

He will be just the sixth player to reach the milestone as captain, following in the footsteps of Graham Arthur (1966), Don Scott (1976 – in the Grand Final), Jason Dunstall (1994 - acting captain), Shane Crawford (2002) and Luke Hodge (2012). 

Several other 200 gamers had already completed spells as captain when they reached 200 games (John Peck, David Parkin and Sam Mitchell), while others subsequently became captain (Leigh Matthews, Michael Tuck, Gary Ayres and Jarryd Roughead).

Hawthorn has had contrasting performances against the two South Australian clubs at the Adelaide Oval. While the Hawks have a 4-0 record against the Crows at the venue, this week they will be looking to improve on a 1-3 record against Port Adelaide. 

Hawthorn sole win to date against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval was on a Thursday night in Round 16 2016. The Hawks won by 22 points – 15.11.101 to 12.7.79, with Luke Hodge and Cyril Rioli leading the best players.

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Games decided by a goal after the siren have been in the news this week. Appropriately, this round marks the 60^th anniversary of Hawthorn’s first win with a goal after the siren. Round 13 1960 was also memorable as Hawthorn’s first win at Victoria Park since joining the League in 1925.

After a tight game all day, Collingwood hit the front late in the term and held a five-point lead heading into time on. Hawthorn had the ball constantly on the forward line, without scoring, until the final passage of play saw John Peck mark in the pocket. At this point, the siren sounded. It did not faze Peck, who calmly steered through the winning goal, as Hawthorn won by one point - 7.16.58 to 7.15.57. 

Peck remains one of only three Hawks to win a game with a goal after the siren, the others being Gary Buckenara in 1987 and Ben Dixon in 2001. This inaugural victory at Victoria Park presaged a seismic shift in the balance of football power. By 1960, Collingwood had won 13 premierships to Hawthorn’s none. In the ensuing six decades, Collingwood has added only two more, while Hawthorn has won 13. 

Hawthorn’s biggest win in its history was against Port Adelaide, by 165 points at the MCG in 2011. In contrast, five games between the Hawks and Power have been decided by six points or fewer, with Hawthorn winning three of them, all by three points – the 2001 Semi Final, the 2014 Preliminary Final and Round 11 2018. Overall, Hawthorn has won 16 and lost 19 of its 35 matches against Port.

Sad news in the past week of the death of Phil O’Brien, who played 86 games for Hawthorn from 1951 to 1958. 

O’Brien kicked 71 goals and produced his career-high of six goals in one of the most important games in Hawthorn history. He kicked his bag of six in front of 31,000 fans at Glenferrie in Round 17 1957, a game which secured Hawthorn’s place in the Finals for the first time. Hawthorn beat Essendon by 21 points and one match report described how O’Brien’s ‘speed, elusiveness and clever position play made him a constant threat’.

O’Brien was assistant coach to John Kennedy when Hawthorn won its first Flag in 1961 and made a huge contribution to the history of Hawthorn. He will be sadly missed.

Hawthorn has played 93 matches in Round 13 for 43 wins, 49 defeats and one draw. The Hawks have won seven of their last eight Round 13 games, beating Essendon (2010 and 2015), Gold Coast (2011), West Coast (2013), Carlton (2014), North Melbourne (2016) and Adelaide (2018), before a hiccup in Round 13 last season, with byes in 2012 and 2017.

10 years ago, in Round 13 2010, Lance Franklin kicked two spectacular last quarter goals at the Punt Road end of the MCG. Franklin’s second goal leveled the scores part way through the term, but a further Essendon major still had the Bombers ahead at the 22-minute mark. However, late goals to Beau Muston, Jordan Lewis and Michael Osborne sealed a 14-point win - 14.18.102 to 13.8.86. 

50 years ago, in Round 13 1970, Hawthorn recorded a comfortable 39-point win against Melbourne at Glenferrie – 16.17.113 to 11.8.74. Young rover Geoff Smith kicked four goals, outscoring the handy trio of Peter Hudson (3), Bob Keddie (3) and Leigh Matthews (2). Des Meagher had an excellent game gathering 28 kicks.

90 years ago, in Round 13 1930, Hawthorn defeated Footscray at Glenferrie – 11.10.76 to 11.7.73. The Age described how, with Footscray clinging to a narrow lead, ‘Hawthorn in the last moments rushed to the attack, and Flanigan, who had had an off day, marked and kicked the winning goal amidst tremendous uproar. The bell sounded and Hawthorn had won by three points.’ Jack Flanigan was playing the third game of what proved to be a five-game Hawthorn career, and this proved to be his only League goal. He certainly picked a good time to score it!

The Round 13 individual goal-kicking record for Hawthorn is nine, held jointly by Peter Hudson (1971) and Jason Dunstall (1988), followed by bags of eight from Peter Knights (1972), Mike Moncrieff (1980) and Simon Minton-Connell (1995).

Lance Franklin’s eight goals at the MCG in 2011 is the highest tally by a Hawthorn player against Port Adelaide.