AFL round 14: Hawthorn defeats Adelaide by three points in Launceston

Hawthorn has come from the clouds to defeat Adelaide in Launceston as late goals from Jai Newcombe and Connor Macdonald made the Crows pay for their wastefulness.

Hawks prime mover Jai Newcombe emerged from a rare quiet game with a piece of magic when it mattered most after Hawthorn won a grinding affair 6.11 (47) to 5.14 (44) win over Adelaide at a slippery UTAS Stadium on Friday night.

It was a scrappy duel which required a piece of opportunism to break it open. Enter Newcombe, who made no mistake with his close range snap in the dying minutes to seal an important win in the top six contest.

The star midfielder was well held by Sam Berry in the first half with just four disposals, but his class shone through late in the dewy conditions as the Hawks sealed an eight straight win at Launceston.

SCROLL DOWN TO RECAP THE GAME AND SEE OUR SUPERCOACH TAKEAWAYS

It was a chance for the Crows to further enhance their premiership credentials after last week’s home win over Brisbane.

They dominated the first half, particularly in the contest, but didn’t take full advantage and led by 15 points at halftime.

It left the door open for the Hawks, who kicked four goals to one in the second half to snare an ugly but crucial victory.

“A bit of karma,” Crows coach Matthew Nicks said with a wry grin when asked about the contrast to his side’s round 13 win over Brisbane Lions.

“We’ve got to take that, go away and learn from it. There’s some key moments (we didn’t take) and we’re working in that space at the moment, you have to get it right for four quarters to beat the best sides.

“We did that reasonably well last week and had a bit of luck, this week we didn’t do it quite as well and didn’t have as much luck.”

HAWKS BACK IN FRONT 🙌#AFLHawksCrowspic.twitter.com/8lEGPIIKPs

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The Crows’ pressure was enormous early, the visitors dominating every statistic which highlights effort to put their stamp on the game early.

They outpointed the Hawks in the first term in clearances (11-6), contested possessions (44-31), tackles (19-9) and inside 50s (18-9)

Hawthorn was lucky to trail by just 13 points at the first change, with the Crows booting the only two goals of the quarter.

The Crows’ intensity was highlighted by a superb run down tackle from Josh Worrell on Nick Watson, which denied the ‘Wizard’ a kick at goal.

After losing the centre clearances 7-1 in the first half, the Hawks got the second half off to a great start after Connor Macdonald snapped truly in the early seconds after the hosts took it out of the middle.

Mabior Chol kicked the only other goal as the Hawks closed to within three points at the final change.

Crows wizard Izak Rankine appeared to have won the game for the visitors with a superb goal off the side of his boot from a boundary throw in with six minutes left.

But it was Newcombe who had the final say.

“The scoreboard pressure, we didn’t have any. In a very low scoring game it took a couple of moments in the second half which didn’t go our way.,” Nicks said.

“I’m really pleased with the way we attacked it and how they came to play, but against the top sides you’ve got to put them away.

“It’s a pretty disappointed locker room at the moment knowing that’s how the game played out.”

Jack Gunston had a huge impact for the Hawks.

HAWKS ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT

The Hawks were played off the park in the first half. The Crows slaughtered them in all the key statistics including clearances, inside 50s and marks.

But they failed to get full value for their dominance, giving Hawthorn a chance to reset at the main break.

Hawthorn undoubtedly copped a rocket from coach Sam Mitchell in the sheds, as their intensity and hardness at the contest was chalk and cheese compared to the first half.

Josh Weddle had a superb second half, his run behind the ball helping finally unlock the Hawks attack.

It was a chance for the Crows to prove themselves as a flag contender with a second straight win against a top eight rival.

They kicked 1.7 in the second half to throw away any chance of securing the four points.

Incredibly the past two games between the sides at Launceston have both been decided by three points.

The Crows were the last team to beat Hawthorn at UTAS Stadium in early 2023.

Dylan Moore (23 touches, 13 tackles, three clearances) was outstanding for Hawthorn, while Crows forward Ben Keays stood out with two goals in his 150th game.

Connor Macdonald celebrates his last-quarter goal.

HISTORY MADE AT LAUNCESTON

It’s taken 25 years, but Launceston finally hosted its first Friday night showpiece game.

It’s fitting the contest on paper was easily the match of the ground between two top six teams, and the locals showed up in masses with a near capacity crowd of 15,129, the ground’s biggest since 2019.

The fate of the Tasmania Devils is up in the air, but the heaving stands at UTAS Stadium was a great pointer to the crowds the state’s own team could attract when given the opportunity.

The temperate was around zero degrees for first bounce, and the conspiracy theorists have intimated the AFL has deliberately given Tasmania a few night games this year to highlight the need for a roof on Hobart’s proposed Macquarie Point stadium.

The slippery, dewy conditions, and a subsequent grind against two regular high octane attacks, probably highlighted why the vast majority of games at Launceston the past quarter of a century have been played in the afternoon.

“It was slippery, there’s no doubt it was a slippery game, but that’s the challenge when it comes to finishing your work off,” Nicks said.

“We dominated front of centre and played the game where we wanted to, but we kicked 0.8 or thereabouts from from of centres. We just didn’t put the scoreboard pressure on when we needed to.

“We have to take the positives from the first half. Our contest and the tackle, the pressure we bought, there was a lot of positives.

“It’s interesting one week to the next. Last week we got across the line by a kick and the locker room is a good place to be around. (Tonight) they’re disappointed, they’re competitors.”