AFL Round 24 Hawthorn v North Melbourne: Hawks booked place in September with Roos demolition

It’s been all about Hok-ball – Hawthorn’s swarming, ruthless offence. But on Saturday, as they booked their finals spot, the Hawks proved they have much more than that.

Jonathon Tuxworth

4 min read

August 25, 2024 - 8:44AM

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Hawks down Roos to secure top eight spot

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It loomed as a soft kill to seal the most unlikely of finals berth.

But for the second straight week, Hawthorn put its foot to the throat early and didn’t relent in Saturday’s 26.14 (170) to 7.4 (46) win over North Melbourne in Launceston.

After starting the year 0-5, the Hawks won 14 of their last 18 matches to seal their place in September.

The AFL’s form team proved their swarming, high pressure game translates to all conditions after they ran rough shod over the Roos on a sodden UTAS Stadium.

They booted eight goals in the second term to lead by as much as 66 late in the first half.

They’re renowned for their brashness and flair, but this was another professional outing from the Hawks when complacency may have set in.

Like last week against bottom side Richmond, they put the result to bed early and demolished what little confidence their lowly opponent may have from the outset.

The Hawks moved to fifth spot on the ladder with a new percentage of 118.5, with Brisbane, the Bulldogs and Carlton all still to play below them.

“This sounds funny but even though we were 0-5 it didn’t feel like we were that far away,” coach Sam Mitchell said.

“We gave away a big start to Collingwood and nearly ran them down, against Geelong we were within a kick in the third quarter.

“If you had said we would be here now playing finals footy, that perhaps would have been a stretch. But when you get belief in a group and you’re so consistent in how you go about things, the players deserve an enormous amount of credit.

“We’’re in a position where everyone is on the same page and working towards the same thing, time will tell how far it will take us.”

The party got underway with ten goals in the last quarter in the ideal tune up for finals. It was their biggest ever victory over North Melbourne, eclipsing the previous best of 115 in 2012 at the same venue.

“The great challenge for us now is what’s the ceiling,” Mitchell said.

“We’ve never put one on (ceiling). We’ve always said while we’ve been building to these moments, there’s no speed limit to how quickly we wanted to achieve the things we wanted to achieve.

“We knew we wanted to be a team that built a game style that would stand up in finals footy, that was the plan.

“Now we’re in finals footy and time will tell whether the way we play will stand up. But it has been designed that way, so I’m confident that it will.”

Nick Watson looms large in September. Picture: Steve Bell/AFL Photos

GINNIVAN AND WATSON LOOM LARGE

The wet conditions suited Hawthorn’s small forward duo perfectly and they sent a statement to the rest of the top eight.

Their effectiveness wasn’t limited once the ball got to ground, with the pair continually finding space to take marks and cause North Melbourne’s defence plenty of headaches.

Veteran Jack Gunston has found strong form the past month as has youngster Calsher Dear, while Connor Macdonald booted three goals and Dylan Moore four on Saturday.

Throw in the fact coach Sam Mitchell has the option of throwing James Sicily or Blake Hardwick forward when needed and they’ll be tough to beat in finals.

Massimo D'Ambrosio starred again in the huge win. Picture: Simon Sturzaker/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Massimo D'Ambrosio's first season as a Hawk has been fantastic!#AFLHawksNorth pic.twitter.com/wAhhfpXrOa
— AFL (@AFL) August 24, 2024

HAWKS SKILLS SUPERB

In the wet the match could have been forgiven for turning into a contested scrap. But Hawthorn proved their ball movement can be effective in all conditions and their speed was too much for the Kangaroos to handle on the UTAS Stadium’s wide expanses.

Their first final is likely to be at the MCG, a ground that suits their game style and they’ll fancy their chances against anyone at their home venue.

Their pressure was brilliant throughout, even when the result was well and truly official, and their game couldn’t be in better shape to try and launch a premiership tilt from the bottom half of the eight.

The win also meant the Hawks won all four games in Launceston this year, the first time they’ve done so since 2016.

Liam Shiels during his final game on Saturday. Picture: Steve Bell/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

SHIELS ENDS MEMORABLE CAREER

The scoreboard wasn’t ideal, but the setting certainly was for Liam Shiels’ farewell. He won three premierships at Hawthorn, and has spent the past two years helping nurture some of North Melbourne’s youngsters.

In the lead up to the match he said a Kangaroos win, but the Hawks still managing to make finals, would be the ideal result.

The Hawks now look set to finish anywhere from fifth to seventh, depending on how Brisbane and the Bulldogs fare this weekend.

ROOS LIMP INTO OFF SEASON

North Melbourne had made some promising strides in the back half of the season, and managed wins over West Coast, Richmond and Gold Coast.

But the last two weeks would be tough to accept for coach Alastair Clarkson after his side backed up last week’s 96-point thrashing by the Bulldogs with Saturday’s 124-point loss to Clarkson’s former team.

Granted, Hawthorn had far more to play for and are way more advanced in their development, but the size of the loss in poor weather was disappointing.

The Roos have to rely on Gold Coast defeating Richmond later on Saturday to avoid the wooden spoon.