This round marks 10 years since Hawthorn recorded its record winning margin. It was in Round 21 2011 that Hawthorn defeated Port Adelaide by 165 points – 31.11.197 to 5.2.32.
This is the third longest period for which the record has stood. The second longest was the 19 years which immediately preceded it, after the 160-point win against Essendon in 1992.
The longest period was a remarkable 37 years when the record stood at 72 points from 1931 until it was finally bettered by an 82-point victory over Footscray in 1968.
In the 2011 game, Hawthorn had 15 individual goalkickers headed by Lance Franklin with eight goals and Cyril Rioli with six, while Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis and Liam Shiels all had over 30 disposals.
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This week Collingwood will become the 16th different opponent which Hawthorn has played at University of Tasmania Stadium. It will leave Melbourne as the only club which Hawthorn has not played in Launceston.
The Hawks have a positive record in first games against different opponents at University of Tasmania Stadium, having won 10 and lost just five, a record they will be hoping can be further improved against Collingwood on Sunday. Hawthorn and Collingwood’s only previous clash outside Victoria was at Giants Stadium in Round 6 last season.
One has to go back to 2006 to find a Hawthorn loss at home to Collingwood. Since that defeat in Round 2 2006 at Docklands, the Hawks have won nine consecutive home games against the Magpies, all at the MCG. The sequence includes a victory in Round 22 2010 in a season when Collingwood went on to win the Premiership.
Hawthorn has won 12 of its last 14 games against Collingwood, the only blemishes being an 18-point loss in Round 9 2017 and a 32-point defeat in Round 6 last season. The sequence of nine consecutive victories against the Magpies from 2012 to 2016 was a club record. The Hawks began a new winning sequence of three with a 24-point victory in Round 15 2017, then followed up with a 34-point win in Round 1 2018 and a come-from-behind four-point win in Round 16 2019.
This week, Shaun Burgoyne will join Grant Birchall on 248 Hawthorn games, in equal 15th on the club’s games played list. The two stars have very similar win-loss records, with both having played in 80 defeats but Burgoyne has two more draws and three fewer wins, a gap which hopefully will narrow on Sunday.
Mitch Lewis has now kicked at least one goal in his past 12 games (the final match of last season and the 11 matches he has played this season). This has him currently equal fourth for this statistic in the AFL. However, he still has quite a way to go to challenge for the Hawthorn record, which is 72 set by Jason Dunstall from 1987 to 1990. This was almost equaled by lance Franklin who kicked at least one goal in 71 consecutive matches from 2006 to 2009.
Since it was first contested in 1970, Round 21 has been one of the best rounds for Hawthorn, with 36 wins and only 14 defeats, including victories in 13 consecutive Round 21 matches between 1982 and 1994 and eight consecutive wins between 2006 and 2013. After losses in 2014 and 2015, Hawthorn has now had four more Round 21 wins, beating North Melbourne in 2016 and 2017, Geelong in 2018 and GWS in the Canberra snow in 2019. There was no Round 21 in 2020.
A feature of Hawthorn’s Round 21 wins is massive winning margins. In fact, five of the 27 one hundred-point victories in Hawthorn history have occurred in Round 21, more than in any other round. These were in 1983 (versus Melbourne), 1986 (Geelong), 1991 (Fitzroy), 2010 (Fremantle) and 2011 (Port Adelaide).
30 years ago, in Round 21 1991, Hawthorn defeated Fitzroy at Princes Park by 126 points – 28.27.195 to 10.9.69. Jason Dunstall, Tony Hall and Paul Hudson all kicked five goals, while John Platten got the three Brownlow votes.
50 years ago, in Round 21 1971, the ladder-leading Hawks took part in a massive game as they travelled to second-placed Collingwood. An incredible crowd of 41,312 crammed into Victoria Park, smashing the record for the previous biggest attendance for the fixture of 32,741 recorded in 1966. It ranks seventh on the all-time list of Victoria Park crowds.
Despite being on top Hawthorn could hardly enter the game with too much confidence. Since entering the League in 1925, Hawthorn had travelled to Victoria Park 38 times and come away with the points on just three occasions (in 1960, 1963 and 1964).
The first half could scarcely have been more even as scores were level at quarter time and the Hawks were ahead by just two points at half-time. Hawthorn then produced a stunning third term adding 6.11 to 2.0, an amazing 17 scoring shots to two, before cruising home to win by 35 points - 20.20.140 to 15.15.105.
Adding to the spectacle was the clash of the great full-forwards, Peter Hudson and Peter McKenna, who entered the game having kicked 121 and 120 goals respectively for the season. McKenna booted six to take his tally for the season to 126 but was eclipsed by Hudson whose nine goals took him to 130. Hudson’s forward work was supplemented by Leigh Matthews and Michael Porter who each kicked three goals.
Jason Dunstall holds the Hawthorn record for most goals in a game against Collingwood, having booted 11 in both 1989 and 1990. Next best was Michael Moncrieff’s 10 in 1976.
Dunstall shares with Peter Hudson Hawthorn’s Round 21 individual goalkicking record. Hudson kicked nine goals in Round 21 in both 1970 and 1971 (see above), while Dunstall recorded the same tally in 1986 and 1989.
