Hawthorn move closer to locking in finals spot with impressive 63-point win over Western Bulldogs
THERE are only a few finishing touches left to put on Alastair Clarkson’s one-year rebuild at Hawthorn and Saturday night’s 63-point win over Western Bulldogs has this team primed to secure a finals spot for the eighth time in nine years.
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
IT WOULD be enough to make long-suffering Carlton supporters sick in the stomach.
There are only a few finishing touches left to be put on Alastair Clarkson’s one-year rebuild at Hawthorn.
Saturday night’s 63-point win over the Western Bulldogs puts the Hawks in the box seat to take part in an eighth finals campaign in nine years.
MATCH CENTRE: SUPERCOACH SCORES FROM DOGS v HAWKS
RETIRING CHAMP: RIOLI OPENS UP ON ‘SCARY’ FUTURE
Last year’s 12th place finish looks set to be the only trough during what has otherwise been an incredibly prosperous period.
Hawthorn now has nine wins to its name and a favourable run home to come.
Matches against bottom-six sides Brisbane, Carlton and Fremantle await over the next three weeks.
Win those as expected and the Hawks will only need one ‘W’ from their final four against Essendon, Geelong, St Kilda and Sydney to set sail for September.
Is Clarkson’s side a genuine premiership threat this season? You wouldn’t think so.
But you couldn’t give them a ‘making up the numbers’ tag, either.
Four of their six losses have come by 15 points or less against finals contenders Richmond (13 points), Sydney (eight points), West Coast (15 points) and Greater Western Sydney (11 points).
RIOLI RETIRES: OPPONENTS PAY RESPECT
BEST EVER?: CYRIL THE MAN FOR THE MOMENT
CASHED-UP: HAWKS PREPARE TO LAUNCH
Their two biggest losses have, strangely, come against Brisbane (56 points) and North Melbourne (28 points).
While Cyril Rioli might have waved goodbye during the week, there is still plenty of quality premiership experience in the Hawthorn line-up which spells danger to opposition sides.
The Hawks named the equal-most players with 150 games or more of experience this round with nine, a figure matched only by Port Adelaide.
The Bulldogs found out all about that experience on Saturday night as Luke Breust produced a four-goal first quarter and six-goal game.
Then, after trailing by two-points at halftime, fellow premiership heroes Jarryd Roughead and Jack Gunston stepped up to produce inspirational third quarters as Hawthorn surged ahead.
Led by a premiership hero of their own in Jason Johannisen, who racked up 25 disposals in a stunning first half, the Bulldogs had looked sharp early.
They retained possession through short kicks and uncontested marks and created opportunities forward through unlikely sources Lachie Hunter and Mitch Wallis, who each kicked two goals before the main break.
But when the Hawks took the game up a gear, the Bulldogs simply could not go with them, completely losing their way in the second half not for the first time this season.
While experience shines, Hawthorn’s mix of youth among the big names also continue to play their roles.
There were 10 players with under 100 games to their name on Saturday night, 46th gamer Daniel Howe the pick of the bunch with 25 disposals, eight marks and a goal.
Then there was 14th gamer Harry Morrison, who was given the job of shutting down Johannisen in the second half, the Bulldog recording just seven touches after his blistering opening hour.
Their season over long ago, Western Bulldogs will miss finals for a second-straight year since their 2016 premiership success.
Sustained success is hard to achieve in the AFL, but it seems Clarkson has the magic touch.
BEST PLAYERS
Hawks: Breust, Gunston, Roughead, McEvoy, O’Meara, Howe, Morrison.
Bulldogs: Johannisen, Hunter, Crozier, McLean, Wallis, Trengove. Dunkley.
VOTES
3 — Luke Breust (Haw)
2 — Jack Gunston (Haw)
1 — Jarryd Roughead (Haw)
Watch every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. SIGN UP NOW >
Cripps robbed? No Hird? McLeod lucky? Century old debate rages
Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane have named their AFL team of the century so far – and debate is already raging. What do you think? Have your say on eight of the most contentious issues.
Team of the Century: The GOAT leads AFL’s best of past 25 years
It’s been 25 full seasons of the AFL since the turn of the century – so who makes the cut in the best 23? Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane took on the almost-impossible task of deciding.