This round marks the 60th anniversary of one of the most significant debuts in Hawthorn history.
It was in Round 18 1961 that 18-year-old David Parkin played his first senior game, beginning on the bench and coming on in the last quarter to replace Garry Young.
The game was against Richmond at Punt Road and the 1961 Hawks made it 10 consecutive victories, winning by 25 points – 11.15.81 to 8.8.56. While Parkin was making his last quarter cameo, the star of the game was Kevin Connell who ‘was brilliant around the packs’ and capped his work with five goals.
Parkin did not retain his position for the Finals but, within a couple of seasons, he had become an integral member of the team, going on to play 211 games through to 1974, being captain in 95 of them, highlighted by leading the team to the 1971 Premiership.
Parkin then coached the Hawks to the 1978 Flag, becoming the first, and still the only, individual to both captain and coach Hawthorn Premiership teams.
In fact, Parkin retains one of only two Premiership captains to subsequently coach the club, the other being 1961 captain Graham Arthur, who was coach in 1964-65. In 2023, the captain of the 2008 Premiership team, Sam Mitchell, will become the third member of this illustrious group.
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There were two games from 2017 which could provide some cause for optimism for Saturday’s game against ladder-leader Melbourne. Both were games when the Hawks were 17th on the ladder, as they are currently.
The first was in Round 7 when the 17t -placed Hawks upset this week’s opponent Melbourne which, at that time, was 8th on the ladder. Hawthorn had built a handy lead early but when Melbourne drew level early in the last quarter things looked ominous. However, Hawthorn held on tenaciously and secured a three-point win – 14.10.94 to 14.7.91.
An even more confronting scenario faced the 17th placed Hawks in Round 14, when they travelled to Adelaide to take on the top-placed Crows. After an even first term, Adelaide opened up a three-goal half-time lead and the game seemed to be heading in a predictable direction. However, Hawthorn produced a stunning 8.8 to 3.6 second half to win by 14 points – 14.12.96 to 12.10.82. Ricky Henderson was superb against his old club, with 30 disposals and two goals.
Last Saturday’s score of 6.10.46 against Fremantle was Hawthorn’s lowest ever at University of Tasmania Stadium beating the previous low of 7.7.49 versus St Kilda in 2009. These two scores are the only ones below 50 which the Hawks have recorded at the venue.
In contrast, Hawthorn has kept opponents to scores lower than 50 on no fewer than nine occasions. At the other end of the scoring range, Hawthorn has recorded three scores over 150 in Launceston, while never conceding a score that high.
This Saturday, Hawthorn will be trying to avoid losing five consecutive games against Melbourne for the first time in more than 60 years.
After losing the 2018 Semi Final to the Demons, the Hawks have lost further games to them in 2019, 2020 and in Round 5 this season. The last sequence of five defeats also began with a Finals loss, the 1957 Preliminary Final and ended in 1960 with a Hawthorn win in Round 16.
In the intervening six decades, Hawthorn has had several significant winning sequences against Melbourne, highlighted by 23 consecutive wins from 1973 to 1984 and 13 from 2007 to 2016. Overall, the two clubs have played 166 times, with Hawthorn winning 87 and Melbourne 79.
The most memorable Round 18 match between Hawthorn and Melbourne was in 1930. Hawthorn scored its first ever win against Melbourne and, in the process, put Melbourne out of the Finals. It has long been revered as one of the most famous wins in Hawthorn’s early VFL history.
The 10th placed Mayblooms were given little chance but, with Keith Sharpley kicking four and Leo Murphy three, the Glenferrie Oval crowd saw a remarkable 13 point upset win – 12.18.90 to 10.17.77. It capped off a much-improved season for Hawthorn under new captain-coach ‘Jiggy’ Harris, with six wins clearly the best return from the club’s six VFL seasons to date.
The most recent Round 18 clash between the Hawks and Demons was 10 years ago, in Round 18 2011, and saw Hawthorn cruise to a 54-point win against Melbourne at the MCG – 20.12.132 to 12.6.78. Lance Franklin kicked five goals, with Cyril Rioli and Luke Breust both contributing three. Brad Sewell, Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell were awarded the Brownlow votes.
Hawthorn has played 93 Round 18 matches (there were no Round 18’s in 1925, 1942 or 1943) for 41 wins and 52 defeats. In recent seasons it has been a good round, with the Hawks winning nine of their last ten Round 18 games, including victories in the past five seasons.
30 years ago, in Round 18 1991, Hawthorn struggled to defeat lowly Richmond by just six points – 13.16.94 to 13.10.88, needing to kick the last three goals to overcome a 14-point deficit part way through the last quarter. The Waverley Park game had begun badly when Richmond kicked the first two goals and Hawthorn ruckman Stephen Lawrence was knocked out. However, Paul Dear filled the gap in the ruck very well, accumulating 28 disposals in the process.
Peter Hudson holds the record for most goals against Melbourne, kicking 16 in Round 5 1969. Hudson also holds the Hawthorn Round 18 record with a tally of nine against St Kilda in 1970. The previous highest before Hudson had come 30 years earlier when Jim Bohan kicked eight in 1940.
