It is a measure of how successful Hawthorn has been as a club in the last 50 years, how rare negative records for the club have been at the half-way point of the season. Since a 22 game season was first played in 1970, there have been just 14 seasons when Hawthorn was in negative territory after 11 games.

The least number of wins at half way since 1970 has been two, which was recorded in both 1998 and 2004. The next worst was a 3-8 record in 2005, followed by 4-7 in 1970, 2003 and now 2017. There were also two seasons (1996 and 1999) when the Hawks had four wins and a draw after 11 rounds. What is notable is how quickly things can turn around with Hawthorn winning Premierships the year after the 4-7 start in 1970 and three years after the 3-8 beginning in 2005.

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Round 12 in years ending in 7 has produced some memorable Hawthorn wins.

One of the most dramatic and famous home and away victories in Hawthorn history came 40 years ago in Round 12 1977. On one of the wettest Melbourne Saturdays for many years a total of just 68,231 fans attended the six matches, of which a crowd of 9,027 was at Arden Street for the match-of-the-day between the great 1970s rivals North Melbourne and Hawthorn.

In the dying stages of the game, Malcolm Blight kicked a behind to level the scores, but in the process of kicking he had been pushed in the back and so was given the opportunity to have another shot to win the game. The previous season Blight had kicked an 80 metre bomb to beat Carlton; this time he kicked out on the full from much closer range which meant the Hawks won by a point – 6.12.48 to 6.11.47. Leon Rice, Peter Knights and Michael Tuck headed the list of best players for Hawthorn.

Another narrow Round 12 win came 20 years ago when, in Round 12 1997, Hawthorn continued its extraordinary mid-1990s record against Geelong at Kardinia Park winning by six points - 13.10.88 to 12.10.82. In the best performance of his Hawthorn career Shannon Gibson booted four goals. Richard Taylor was in brilliant form until forced off with injury in the third term and Shane Crawford was outstanding all day. 

Read: Which Hawks are in contention for mid-season All Australian honours?

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Round 12s in years ending in 7 have also produced some huge winning margins for Hawthorn.

30 years ago, in Round 12 1987, Hawthorn ventured to Carrara for its first ever game against the Brisbane Bears (coached by Hawks’ great Peter Knights)  and came away with a 95 point win – 24.21.165 to 11.4.70. Jason Dunstall kicked 11 goals and Dermott Brereton five, the forwards making the most of the dominance of the on-ballers led by John Platten (34 disposals) and Richard Loveridge (30).

10 years ago, in Round 12 2007, Hawthorn defeated Carlton by exactly 100 points – 27.14.180 to 12.8.80. The game at Docklands was attended by a full-house crowd of 53,459. Luke Hodge got the three Brownlow votes for a performance which included 29 disposals and four goals. 

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Hawthorn has a good recent record in Round 12 with nine wins from 12 games in the Clarkson era. However, the overall record in Round 12 games is not as impressive, with 41 wins and 51 losses in the 92 seasons from 1925 to 2016.

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It has been well-documented that Hawthorn’s half time score against Port Adelaide last Thursday night was the lowest in the club’s history. One of the games which had held the record was Round 14 2009 when the Hawks kicked 0.4 in the first half on the way to an 88 point loss to the Western Bulldogs at Docklands. Hawthorn responded by winning its next two matches against North Melbourne and Collingwood. 

Read: 'Worst of the first' has silver lining

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Hawthorn has had a home game against Gold Coast every season since the Suns entered the competition in 2011. There have been a couple of common margins in the previous six games, as the Hawks won by 26 points twice (2013 and 2016) and 53 points twice (2014 and 2015). The other two matches saw Hawthorn win by 71 points (2011) and 64 points (2012).

This Saturday will be the third meeting between the two clubs at the MCG, the previous two being in 2012 and 2013. The 2012 encounter was in Round 21 and, with Brad Sewell and Luke Hodge each accumulating 35 disposals, the Hawks cruised to a 19.15.129 to 10.5.65 win. The following season in Round 9 2013 it was a much closer game with the Suns actually leading by 11 points at half-time before Hawthorn eventually won 18.10.118 to 14.8.92. It was a special day for Sam Grimley who made his AFL debut and booted a goal with his first kick just one minute and 38 seconds into the game.

Overall, the Hawks won their first eight matches against Gold Coast before the heavy loss at Carrara in Round 3 this season.

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Remarkably, this week’s game will be the first time Hawthorn has played on Saturday 10 June for 45 years. The Hawks have had several 10 June games since then, but they have been on Mondays, Sundays or Friday nights. 

The most recent Saturday 10 June game was not a happy one for Hawthorn as a trip to Moorabbin in Round 11 1972 saw the Saints take a measure of revenge for their defeat in the previous season’s Grand Final with a thumping 54 point win. One actually has to go back to 1933 to find a Hawthorn win on Saturday 10 June, but that was certainly a good one as it was by nine points at Windy Hill, a result which contributed to Essendon getting the wooden spoon rather than Hawthorn.

Read: Bupa recovery report R12

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Jason Dunstall holds the individual goal-kicking record for Hawthorn in Round 12 – with 11 at Carrara in 1987 (see above), which he later equaled against Sydney at the SCG in 1994. The record for Hawthorn against Gold Coast is five, held jointly by Luke Breust (2011), Lance Franklin (2013) and Jack Gunston (2014).