AFL Sydney v Hawthorn: Will Day, Lloyd Meek lead Hawks to Opening Round victory at SCG
The Hawks went into the season as the most-hyped team in the AFL. On Friday night, Sam Mitchell’s side proved just why. See the full SuperCoach takeaways, recap all the action.
An instant classic has quashed any doubts around the future of Opening Round.
Sydney and Hawthorn were unexpectedly given season opener honours after the postponement of Thursday night’s clash between Brisbane and Geelong.
They justified the prime-time slot with a fiery encounter that featured a sprinkling of tensions boiling over in between 80 minutes of quality football.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE KEY TALKING POINTS AND SUPERCOACH TAKEAWAYS BELOW
Hawthorn led by as much as 27 throughout the third quarter before the Swans went on a four-goal charge to set up a scintillating fourth quarter in front of 40,310 at the SCG.
The rain came down hard in the final term as conditions turned on their head, with Hawthorn able to lift another gear, restricting Sydney to just five behinds as their defence shut down the Swans when it mattered the most.
They came out on top 14.12 (96) to 11.10 (76) as they look to build on a semi final appearance for last year, resigning Sydney to a loss in its first game under the care of new coach Dean Cox.
HITTING THE RIGHT NOTES
Normally teams are given a bit of forgiveness for coming out of the blocks slow in week one.
Somebody forgot to give Sydney and Hawthorn the memo.
Outside of a few jumper grabs there was some brilliant kicking and a few pieces of individual brilliance, none better than Tom Papley kicking across his body while at full speed.
The Hawks finished the term up by a kick, but it certainly didn’t fall in the category of Sydney’s slow starts of 2024 given the quality of the spectacle.
The Swans NEEDED this from Chad 💪#AFLSwansHawkspic.twitter.com/b2Xa9ECpxj
— AFL (@AFL) March 7, 2025
CHAD’S ALPHA OUTPUT
There’s plenty of speculation about where Chad Warner will play his footy next year, and he again showed why he is in demand from rival clubs.
The re-signing of younger brother Corey has Swans fans optimistic he stays, with another top-tier display almost getting Sydney over the line.
When Hawthorn got on a run he was the man to give his side a boost with a pair of goals and a host of key involvements.
A NEW DAY
There was simply no stopping Will Day as he turned in a dominant first half display to get the Hawks playing from in front.
He had 19 disposals, five clearances and four tackles to go along with three goals as Sydney had no answer for the
After playing just 16 games last season, he looks like he is in for a cracking 2025.
LET THE DEBATE RAGE
Does a blockbuster season opener create the right amount of anticipation for the first full round of the season next week or is the appetite for footy in Melbourne simply too much to ignore?
It’s a debate that will continue throughout the weekend, but a packed SCG and a quality contest mount the case for Opening Round to remain in its current form for at least another season.
Originally published as AFL Sydney v Hawthorn: Will Day, Lloyd Meek lead Hawks to Opening Round victory at SCG
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