It is a striking statistic given that Hawthorn leads in premierships 10-1 and in grand final appearances 15-2. It is explained by two factors. Firstly, Footscray was generally stronger than Hawthorn in the clubs’ first three decades in the competition; secondly, in the 1970s and 1980s, the Bulldogs often seemed capable of upsetting the higher placed Hawks.
A classic example came in 1982. Hawthorn finished third that season and the Bulldogs on the bottom with just three wins. No problems with the first meeting at Waverley in Round 3, a match Hawthorn won by 143 points. However, in the return meeting at the Western Oval in Round 13 the Hawks surrendered a 33 point three quarter time lead to lose by 15 points, having been outscored 8.3 to 0.3 in the final term!
There has only been a Round 23 in three previous AFL seasons - 1991, 1992 and 1994.
Hawthorn had the bye in 1992 and recorded good wins in the other two years.
In Round 23 1991, Hawthorn thrashed Carlton by 98 points at Princes Park - 23.18.156 to 8.10.58. The highlight was a stunning 9.7 to 0.2 third quarter which took the margin from 38 to 97 points. The goals were shared around with Paul Dear and Jason Dunstall each kicking four, while Anthony Condon secured the three Brownlow votes with an amazing 44 disposal (27 kicks and 17 handballs) game.
Three years later, in Round 23 1994, the Hawks played a much closer game against the Brisbane Bears at the Gabba. Hawthorn went into the game in ninth place, needing a win against the 11th placed Brisbane to sneak back into the eight and after establishing a 31 point quarter time lead this looked a formality, but the Bears fought back to only trail by seven at the final change, before the Hawks steadied to win 15.12.102 to 13.13.91.
The leading possession getters for the Hawks were the slightly unlikely duo of Mark Graham and Shayne Stevenson each with 23, but the star of the day was Jason Dunstall who not only kicked six crucial goals, but the first of them was his 1000th career goal, becoming just the third player after Gordon Coventry and Doug Wade to reach the mark (Tony Lockett and Gary Ablett Snr. did so subsequently).
This week, Hawthorn will be attempting to beat the Bulldogs twice in one season for the first time since 2000. In that year, the Hawks beat their fellow finalists by 31 points at the MCG in Round 7 and by 15 points in a crucial final round encounter at Docklands.
Hawthorn’s most famous victory against the Bulldogs came on grand final day 1961 when the Hawks won their first flag with a stirring 13.16.94 to 7.9.51 win, clinching the game with a 6.6. to 1.1 third quarter. This week the book telling the full story of the memorable 1961 season, Gold'n Brown Jubilee: The Story of the 61 Hawks will be released.
The unchanged team Hawthorn had against Carlton last Friday takes to 13 the number of times there have been no changes in the six and a half seasons under the coaching of Alastair Clarkson, almost a quarter of the complete number of unchanged teams in the Club’s whole VFL-AFL history.
Keen observers would have noted that Hawthorn restricted opponents to half-time totals of 14 two weeks in a row, with Port Adelaide’s 2.2 followed by Carlton’s 1.8.
One does not have to go back too far to find a Hawthorn opponent with a lower score at the main interval - in Round 21 last year Fremantle had kicked just 1.5, while back in Round 1 2010 Melbourne had managed just 1.6 at half time.
This Saturday, Alastair Clarkson will coach against interim Bulldogs coach Paul Williams thus bringing to 31 the number of coaches he has coached against. The only coaches from the past seven seasons he has not coached against are both interims at Melbourne - Mark Riley and Todd Viney.
The departures of Neil Craig and Rodney Eade from the coaching ranks in recent weeks mean that only Mick Malthouse and John Worsfold have currently retained coaching jobs at other clubs longer than Clarkson has at Hawthorn. Another interesting fact is that in the past seven seasons Clarkson has not faced any coach at two different clubs; indeed, amazingly Malthouse is now the only current AFL coach to have coached any previous club.
Shaun Burgoyne is steadily moving up the chart for most consecutive games following a Hawthorn debut. He made his first appearance, wearing a helmet, in the Hawks season-turning game against Richmond in Round 8 last season and the game against Carlton was his 36th consecutive game. He still has a way to go to catch David O’Halloran who played 74 consecutive games from his Round 1 1976 debut until injury in the 1978 Second semi final meant he missed the 1978 grand final.
The only other current Hawk with a run of consecutive games stretching beyond this season is fellow 2010 import Josh Gibson with 29, while next on the list on the list are the only other individuals to have played every game in 2011 - Grant Birchall and Liam Shiels.
The highest individual goal tally kicked by a Hawthorn player against the Bulldogs is 14 by Jason Dunstall in Round 19, 1996 at Waverley.
One correction to last week’s column: Hawthorn’s score of 31.11.197 against Port Adelaide was actually the second instance of a score of 197 being recorded in VFL-AFL history. After 114 seasons without an instance it has occurred twice in 2011, the first coming in Round 6 by Essendon versus Gold Coast.
