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The Rundown

A cold and wet night at the MCG saw Hawks star Jack Gunston and young Swan Ben Ronke go almost goal for goal in the opening two quarters.

Gunston kicked three of the Hawks’ four first quarter goals while Ronke kicked four of his own as the Hawks took a two-point lead into the first change.

The pair then kicked each of their teams’ first in the second quarter, with the Swans ahead by six points at the main break in what was proving a tight contest.

However, a four-goal-to-one term had the Hawks in the box seat, with a pair of late goals to Luke Breust giving the side an 11-point lead.

James Sicily (26 disposals, nine marks) was proving invaluable in defence while veteran Shaun Burgoyne was also enjoying a stellar night through the midfielder.

The final quarter saw the two sides’ fortunes reverse, with the Hawks this time restricted to just the single goal as the Swans piled on five more.

Two of those came in the final four minutes as Sydney stole an eight-point lead before holding on to claim a nail-biting victory.

The Star

Jack Gunston was a standout for the Hawks with a five-goal haul from 15 disposals and four marks.

The mobile forward kicked four of the Hawks’ first five majors, as well as their last, which put them seven points up in the final term.

Read: Positive omens for the Hawks

The Moment

With the Hawks down by two points and less than two minutes remaining on the clock, ruckman Ben McEvoy imposed himself on the contest, grabbing a strong intercept mark at halfback before playing on immediately, giving off a handball to the running Isaac Smith.

With Swan Harry Cunningham breathing down his neck, Smith looked to switch the ball across the ground but it was Gary Rohan who found himself on the end of the kick, who then delivering the ball long inside fifty.

Despite a flying attempt to spoil by Ben Stratton, the ball landed in the lap of man-of-the-moment Ben Ronke, who went back and kicked a seventh goal for the evening, all but sealing an eight-point win for Sydney.

The Coach

"When it comes to a close game, only two goals separate the two sides for the whole of the night, sometimes the team that wants it the most wins the game and I felt over the course of the game Sydney were just a bit hungrier and a bit more polished with using their numbers over the ball than what we were."

  • Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson

 

HAWTHORN  4.3   5.4   9.6  10.11 (71)
SYDNEY        4.1   6.4   7.7   12.7 (79)

GOALS
Hawthorn: Gunston 5, Breust 3, Roughead, Morrison
Sydney: Ronke 7, Hayward 3, Parker 2 

BEST
Hawthorn: Gunston, Sicily, Breust, Burgoyne, Roughead, Shiels
Sydney: Ronke, Parker, Heeney, Jones, Cunningham, Lloyd 

INJURIES
Hawthorn: Nil
Sydney: Nil 

Reports: Luke Parker (Sydney) for rough conduct on Jarman Impey in the fourth quarter

Umpires: Foot, Dalgleish, Rosebury

Official crowd: 32,784 at the MCG