Hawthorn seemed to put their third quarter woes to bed on Saturday afternoon, managing a return of four goals and four behinds for the term, compared to Brisbane’s 2.2. 

It was just the second time this season the Hawks had registered a higher score than their opponent (the other – Round 5 vs West Coast), having conceded 46.28 whilst scoring 24.25.

Senior Coach Alastair Clarkson was well aware of the deficit, acknowledging the Hawks were “the worst third quarter team in the competition by an absolute mile” after their Round 6 loss to St Kilda. 

However, with three wins in their past four outings, the Hawks seem to have ironed out some of their early season teething problems.

Read: Weekend wrap Round 8

Young midfielder Daniel Howe says the playing group was pleased with their ability to run out the game, despite a number of injuries.

“I think the boys really dug deep today,” said Howe after the match.

“It was a real grind for four quarters, but we managed to get the job done and put on a solid four quarter performance.

“Our third quarters have let us down in the past but we made sure that didn’t happen today.”

Howe himself was impressive; the youngster finished with 21 disposals (seven contested), 10 marks, three tackles, as well as a goal in the all-important third term.

The 22-year-old currently has a winning percentage of 84.21, having emerged victorious in all but three of his nineteen AFL games.