Hawthorn’s current sequence of seven consecutive wins against Adelaide began with a 56 point victory almost exactly five years ago. It was at the MCG in Round 3 2012 that the Hawks scored a comprehensive 56 point win against the Crows.

The seven-game sequence includes such dramatic victories as the 5 point win in the 2012 Preliminary Final and the 3 point win in Round 5 last season. The two teams have met nine times at the MCG with the Hawks having the edge by 6 wins to 3. The current winning sequence has also given Hawthorn the lead in the head-to-head record between the two clubs, by 20 to 18.

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Hawthorn supporters should not despair after the Round 1 loss as five of the Hawks 13 Premierships have come after opening the campaign. The Premiership years with Round 1 losses in 1961, 1988; 1989, 1991 and 2013. Interestingly, none of the teams that defeated the Hawks in these opening games ended up making the Grand Final and two of them (South Melbourne in 1961 and Adelaide in 1991) failed to even make the Finals.

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Keen student of Hawthorn history Ian Oakley has pointed out that this week Hawthorn will reach the milestone of having 1000 games played by Indigenous players. The tally is currently 999 and if both Shaun Burgoyne and Cyril Rioli play on Sunday the number will reach 1001. Rioli is on the verge of breaking the record for most games played by an Indigenous player at Hawthorn having reached 179 games, just three behind current record-holder Lance Franklin’s 182. The first Indigenous player to represent Hawthorn was Cyril Collard in 1957.

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The four players making Hawthorn debuts last Saturday night was the most in Round 1 since there were also four in Round 1 2010. The four in 2010 were Josh Gibson, Rhan Hooper, Jarrod Kayler-Thomson and Carl Peterson.

The four debutants against Essendon had all played for other AFL clubs and having four such players debut in one game was the highest number at Hawthorn since the club’s very first League game in Round 1 1925 when there were nine.

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It is 45 years since Hawthorn first played a game on 1 April. The opening round of the 1972 season was played on that day. Much of the day went as planned, as the Hawks unfurled the 1971 Flag and beat Melbourne comfortably. Yet, the day will always be remembered as the one when Peter Hudson badly injured his knee shortly before half-time, having already kicked 8 goals. More happily, John Hendrie made his debut and he went on to be an integral part of Hawthorn’s Flags later in the 1970s. Overall, Hawthorn has won 4 and lost 4 in games played on 1 April.

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Having made his debut in Round 1 1957, Collard was a late withdrawal in Round 2 as the Hawks backed-up their opening day win with a hard-fought home win against Richmond – 9.22.76 to 8.9.57. Hawthorn had only led by a point at three quarter time but pulled clear in the final term. Roy Simmonds was generally considered to be Hawthorn’s best player. One report commented that he gave a “lion-hearted” performance as he “continually tore through fearlessly from the half back line to drive his side into attack”.

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10 years ago, in Round 2 2007, Hawthorn had a home game against Melbourne at the MCG. Having lost badly to Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in Round 1, the Hawks went in as outsiders against Melbourne (which had also lost in the opening round). Experts tipping Hawthorn could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Before an Easter Monday crowd of 43,197, the Hawks trailed by 13 points at quarter time, but then took control, winning 17.14.116 to 14.10.94. There were four multiple goal-kickers (Mark Williams 6, Tim Boyle 3, Ben Dixon 2 and Trent Croad 2), while those who got the Brownlow votes were Jordan Lewis and Brad Sewell. 16 of the 22 members of that Hawthorn team of outsiders went on to become Premiership players just 18 months later, while the beaten favourites slumped to 14th in 2007 and finished with the wooden spoon in both 2008 and 2009.

Read: Will Tex meet the Hawks this weekend?

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Overall, Round 2 is one of the Hawthorn’s poorest with 38 wins, one draw and 53 losses. There has been some improvement in recent seasons, with 6 wins out of the last 10, including last season’s big win against the Eagles at the MCG.

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Ricky Henderson is the second Hawthorn player listed as being recruited from the small town of Trentham, north-west of Melbourne. The first was John McCashney who played four games for the Hawks in 1953-54 before returning to his home-town club and helping them win the 1956 Grand Final. In contrast, Henderson played only a handful of games for Trentham when he was transitioning from basketball to football in 2008, prior to his being rookie-listed by Adelaide.

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Jason Dunstall holds the record against Adelaide, kicking 9 goals on three separate occasions against the Crows – in 1993 and 1994 (both at Football Park) and in 1996 (at Waverley). He also holds the club’s Round 2 individual goal-kicking record, kicking 9 twice – in 1988 versus Richmond and in 1991 against Sydney.