The Round 7 individual Hawthorn goal-kicking tally is the highest for any round. In Round 7 1992, 29 years ago, Jason Dunstall kicked 17 goals against Richmond, falling just one short of Fred Fanning’s VFL-AFL record of 18, but bettering the previous Hawthorn record of 16 set by Peter Hudson in 1969.
Hudson holds the record for the highest number of goals by a Hawthorn player against St Kilda, kicking 12 at Glenferrie in Round 15 1971 in a match which was a preview of the season’s Grand Final.
The last time Hawthorn played St Kilda in Round 7 the game produced the fifth biggest winning margin in Hawthorn history – 145 points.
In Round 7 2014, Hawthorn 27.13.175 defeated St Kilda 4.6.30 at the MCG. Four players – Luke Breust, Jack Gunston, Jarryd Roughead and Ryan Schoenmakers – kicked four goals each. The only negative for the Hawks was an early injury to Sam Mitchell but young substitute Billy Hartung made the most of the opportunity to gather 26 disposals and kick a goal on debut.
2014 was not the only time Hawthorn has had a massive Round 7 victory against St Kilda. Back in Round 7 1985, the Hawks won by 126 points – 28.15.183 to 8.9.57 – in front of a crowd of just 9,762 at Princes Park. The margin was only 22 points at half-time but in the third quarter the Hawks piled on 12.4 to 2.0.
A pair of 33-year-old champions led the way as Peter Knights kicked six goals and Leigh Matthews five, with 31-year-old Michael Tuck chipping in with three. Young ruckman, Greg Dear, made a promising debut.
Jacob Koschitzke’s nomination for the AFL Rising Star has taken Hawthorn to the equal third most nominations since the award was introduced in 1993. Koschitzke was the 41st Hawk nominated which puts the club equal with Essendon and behind only Brisbane (46) and Melbourne (42).
Koschitzke’s nomination means that Hawthorn has had at least one nominee in 25 of the 29 seasons in which the award has existed. The only years when there were no young Hawks nominated were 2004, 2007, 2012 and 2014.
Hawthorn’s narrow win against Adelaide continued the club’s excellent recent record in games decided by six points or fewer. In the past six seasons, Hawthorn has played in 24 such games for the strong record of 17 wins, one draw and just six losses. This recent positive run has seen Hawthorn go ahead in the overall record in these games, with 122 wins, 114 losses and 11 draws.
Triple-Premiership Hawk Liam Shiels turns 30 on Thursday 29 April. Shields made his debut in Round 10 2009 aged just 18 years and 32 days, younger than it is now possible to debut, given the minimum drafting age is now four months older than it was when he was taken as the youngest player in the 2008 National Draft at pick 34. There are three other current Hawks who made their debuts for the club at 18 years old - Harry Morrison, Tyler Brockman and Connor Downie, the youngest of which on debut was Brockman at 18 years and 118 days.
In previous times, the Hawks had two 16-year-old debutants, John Peck and Garry Young, and 25 players who made their first appearance at 17 years old. The most recent of the 17-year-olds was Luke Hodge, one of many famous names amongst the 17-year-old debutants, including Leigh Matthews, Peter Knights, Peter Crimmins, Gary Ayres, Robert Dipierdomenico and Alan Martello.
Hawthorn and St Kilda have met 158 times with the Hawks winning 82 and the Saints 74, plus two draws. Hawthorn won 20 consecutive games against St Kilda from 1979 to 1989.
Hawthorn has twice won eight consecutive Round 7 games, doing so from 1971 to 1978 and again from 2011 to 2018. The overall Hawthorn in Round 7 record is 47 wins, 48 losses and one draw.
10 years ago, in Round 7 2011, a couple of future Premiership stars, Paul Puopolo and Isaac Smith, made their debuts in a Friday night game against Port Adelaide at Football Park. Both were mature-aged recruits with Puopolo 23 years old at the time of his debut and Smith 22. The scores were level at half-time, but then Hawthorn gradually gained the ascendancy in the second half to win by 32 points – 15.14.104 to 10.12.72.
20 years ago, in Round 7 2001, Hawthorn had to fight hard to defeat St Kilda at Docklands – 16.14.110 to 15.9.99. John Barker kicked five goals and Trent Croad four, while Daniel Chick received the three Brownlow votes.
50 years ago, in Round 7 1971, Hawthorn underlined its premiership credentials with a devastating 6.5 to 0.0 opening quarter to set up a 67-point win – 21.19.145 to 12.6.78. Peter Hudson kicked 10 goals and his third goal broke John Peck’s previous club record of 475 career goals.
90 years ago, in Round 7 1931, Hawthorn defeated Essendon for the first time, and to make the win even more meritorious the victory came at Essendon’s Windy Hill home ground. Hawthorn had lost its previous eight encounters with the Dons but on this occasion despite trailing at the final change, the Mayblooms finished strongly to win 12.8.80 to 8.12.60. Jack Ryan kicked three goals, while George Bennett was the outstanding player, ably supported by captain-coach John Harris, rover Ted Pool and Bob Hammond.
