Hawthorn has played Adelaide four times at Adelaide Oval and won all four games.
Hawthorn has beaten the Crows at Adelaide Oval by 12 points in 2014, 29 points in 2015, 14 points in 2017 and 32 points in Round 1 last season.
When the clubs met there 2017, the 17th placed Hawthorn were massive underdogs against the ladder-leading Crows. Trailing by three goals at half-time, a Hawthorn win still seemed unlikely, but a stunning 8.8 to 3.6 second half lifted the Hawks to a memorable win, with the three Brownlow votes going to former Crow, Ricky Henderson.
The four wins against Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval has already equalled the number of victories against the Crows at Football Park where there were just four wins in 15 attempts, recorded in 1993, 1994, 2008 and 2013.
If Hawthorn beats Adelaide this week, it will be the tenth occasion when the Hawks have won its first five or more games against an opponent at a venue.
The Hawthorn record for this feat is versus South Melbourne / Sydney at Princes Park, a venue at which the Hawks not only won the first five against the Swans but went on to have a 15-0 record. The next longest opening sequence is 11 victories against Melbourne at Waverley, before the Demons finally managed a win in 1994. Third place belongs to Fremantle in Launceston, with Hawthorn currently having an unbroken sequence of 10 wins against the Dockers at University of Tasmania Stadium.
The only venue outside Victoria or Tasmania at which Hawthorn has opened with five consecutive wins against an opponent was the SCG, where the Hawks won their first five games against the Swans from 1982 to 1986. Let’s hope Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval joins the list this week.
Hawthorn will be playing a VFL-AFL game on a Tuesday for just the third time.
The first occasion was on Anzac Day in 1989 when Hawthorn took on Richmond at Waverley in a Round 4 encounter. The Hawks only led by a point at half-time but pulled away in the second half to win 15.20.110 to 9.12.66. A crowd of 41,347 saw Jason Dunstall kick eight goals and Tony Hall three.
The second Tuesday game was in 2011 when Easter was unusually late so Easter Monday clashed with Anzac Day. This meant Tuesday 26 April was a public holiday and Hawthorn played Geelong. A crowd of 78,579 saw Hawthorn lead by eight points at half-time but fall away after the break to lose by 19 points – 15.8.98 to 17.15.117. Matt Suckling had 28 disposals for the Hawks and received two Brownlow votes.
Hawthorn this week finds itself in the unusual situation of being the home team against an interstate opponent on its home ground.
Hawthorn’s only previous home game outside Victoria against a team from the hosting state, was played at Carrara in 2006. As part of the flow-on effect of the MCG hosting the Commonwealth Games, Hawthorn hosted the Brisbane Lions at Carrara in Round 7 2006. Things did not begin well when the Hawks were kept scoreless in the opening term and did not improve greatly, as the match ended in a 40-point defeat – 9.12.66 to 16.10.106. The one highlight was Mark Williams kicking five goals for the Hawks.
Apart from the 2006 Carrara game, Hawthorn has played three other home games outside Victoria or Tasmania, all against Victorian opponents, losing to Essendon both at the Gabba in 1981 and at the Adelaide Oval last week, and to Melbourne at Giants Stadium earlier this season.
Hawthorn has won 10 of its last 11 games against Adelaide, the only blemish being a 24-point loss at the MCG in Round 2 2017. Prior to that defeat, the Hawks had won the previous seven, beginning with a 56-point victory in Round 3 2012 and including two thrillers - the five-point win in the 2012 Preliminary Final and the Paul Puopolo inspired three-point win in 2016. In total, the Hawks and Crows have played 42 times, with Hawthorn holding a 23-19 advantage.
Round 15 has historically one of Hawthorn’s best rounds, producing 49 wins, 2 draws and 43 defeats. Hawthorn had won three consecutive Round 15 games before losing against GWS Giants in Sydney in 2018 and West Coast at the MCG last season. In the 27 seasons from 1970 to 1996, Hawthorn’s Round 15 return was remarkably good, with 24 wins and only 3 losses.
Hawthorn’s good Round 15 record does not apply as much in years ending in zero, with the most recent win back in 1970.
50 years ago, in Round 15 1970, Hawthorn thrashed Essendon by 68 points at Windy Hill – 21.4.130 to 9.8.62. The Hawks led by 20 points at half-time but made sure of the victory by producing an 8.3 to 2.0 third quarter. Peter Hudson kicked eight goals, while Bob Keddie, Leigh Matthews and Geoff Smith all booted three. One of the stars was Les Hawken who, in just his tenth League game, took 10 marks and had 21 kicks.
60 years ago, in Round 15 1960, Hawthorn defeated Carlton at Glenferrie by 27 points – 13.10.88 to 9.7.61. Garry Young was the leading goalkicker with four, ably assisted by both Ian law and John Peck who both kicked three.
Jason Dunstall holds the Hawthorn individual goal-kicking record against Adelaide, kicking nine goals on three separate occasions – in 1993 and 1994 (both at Football Park) and in 1996 (at Waverley).
The best individual return for a Hawthorn player in Round 15 is 12 goals, recorded by Peter Hudson in a 23-point win at Glenferrie in 1971 against the Hawks’ subsequent Grand Final opponent St Kilda.
