After Hawthorn’s 145-point win over St Kilda at the MCG on Saturday, hawthornfc.com.au takes a look at the five main points to take out of the game.

1. Schoenmakers a whipping boy no more
After more than a year on the sidelines, Ryan Schoenmakers made a triumphant and not-so-quiet return to football and seems now to have moved from whipping boy to much-loved player at Hawthorn.

Before his injury, Schoenmakers was often one of the first players criticised after a loss or sometimes even a win by fans but on Saturday, there was not one Hawthorn member or supporter unhappy with his exciting return to football.

It couldn’t have gone any better, as he slotted four goals from full forward in Hawthorn’s huge win over the Saints but more than that, he showed that he can play at both ends of the ground.

And it came at a good time for the Hawks, because they will need to draw on that ability on Friday night, as the Hawks prepare to take on the Swans without key defender Brian Lake due to a calf injury.

After just one heralded week as a dominant forward, Schoenmakers will likely make the switch to defence to tackle Adam Goodes, Sam Reid or potentially, Lance Franklin and take on a more selfless role for the team.
 

2. Hawks batten down the hatches

After conceding more than 100 points for the first time this season to Geelong in Round 5, the Hawks have responded to the criticism of their defence with conviction.

In the last two weeks, Hawthorn has conceded a total of just 82 points to their opposition (52 to Richmond in Round 6 and 30 against the Saints on Saturday) – the equal lowest (with Sydney) in the competition.

That makes the Hawks the hardest team to score against the competition in the opening seven rounds of the season, overtaking West Coast and Fremantle on the weekend.

Hawthorn now concedes on average, just 70.4 points per game to their opposition, while averaging 127.7 points themselves (also ranked number one).

The two-week total is less than the score conceded by Port Adelaide in their game against the Giants on Saturday (97 points) in a relatively low-scoring round of footy.
 

3. Hawks dominate possession
St Kilda have proved to be a dangerous proposition in 2014, capable of causing an upset if allowed the opportunity to win the footy and play their own game but what Hawthorn did on Saturday was deny them any chance to get their game flowing.

The Saints beat the Bombers in Round 5 by taking the game on, winning their fair share of the footy and from there, having the game played on their terms but the Hawks didn’t give them any such chance.

Hawthorn had 151 more disposals than St Kilda. That equates to five extra players on the ground who average 30 or more disposals.

Although the stats were relatively even – like contested possessions (146-134), clearances (48-45) and the Saints won the tackle count 56-73, they were simply no match for a ruthless and dominant Hawthorn midfield who used the ball better (78 per cent disposal efficiency to 68) and sliced through St Kilda’s defence with ease.

The Hawks had a whopping 68 inside 50s to just 25 for the game, a discrepancy rarely seen in the modern game and had five players with 30 or more disposals to St Kilda’s one.
 

4. Hartung on debut
When Sam Mitchell went down in the opening term, Hawks fans would have been cursing given the importance of the midfielder to the team but it just gave them the opportunity to see more of the Club’s number one draft pick from last season.

Taken with selection 24 overall in the 2013 National Draft, Hartung possesses great speed, endurance and foot skills – all of which were on display in his debut at the MCG on Saturday.

Hartung won 26 disposals, laid three tackles, had two inside 50s and kicked a goal in an exciting debut for the Hawks.

Of his 26 touches, 18 were uncontested, with his ability to find space and provide run on display in his first three and a bit quarters of AFL footy.

He was composed, and used the ball well with 73.8 per cent efficiency by hand and foot.

He’s a hard worker both on the field and off it, with his attitude towards training and professionalism impressing club officials.

The future is bright.
 

5. Breust, Gunston, Roughead… oh my!
The four goals each kicked by Jarryd Roughead, Jack Gunston and Luke Bruest on Saturday put Hawthorn in the rare position of having three players in the top 10 of the AFL’s overall goal kicking leaderboard.

Breust is ranked second behind Port Adelaide’s Jay Schultz with 21 goals for the season, while Gunston is behind him in third position with 19 goals for the year.

Last year’s Coleman medallist, Roughead is in equal sixth on 17 goals.

For the record, Cyril Rioli is also pushing up, with his four goals last week and two goals on Saturday moving him into fourteenth with 13 goals for the season.

It is little wonder Hawthorn averages 127 points per game. Good luck to Sydney this week in trying to stop all three (or four) of them.