RESTRICTING the midfield of ladder-leader Fremantle was pivotal to Sunday’s 72-point win, according to Hawks' skipper Luke Hodge.
In his 100th game as captain of the club, Hodge said the Hawks’ intensity early set the tone.
“(In) the first half, it was a physical game,” he told HawksTV post-game.
“When you come up against a quality midfield, with Sandilands, Fyfe, Mundy – they’ve got so many floating through there – they’re big bodies and if you don’t come with a bit of aggression against them they’re going to get through you.
“Luckily enough we were able to hold them a little bit – they still got a lot of the football – but I thought compared to what they’ve done in the past, we were able to restrict them a little bit.”
The Hawks dominated the Dockers in a number of key statistical areas – winning the disposal count by 119 and the tackle count by 25.
The hosts also won the clearances 49-30 – an area in which the Dockers lead the competition.
Hodge found himself going head-to-head with Dockers star Nat Fyfe – who was restricted to just 20 disposals – on a number of occasions, but said the Hawks went into the match with no particular focus on Fyfe.
“It was more… don’t let him bustle through – pretty much hold on for dear life when he’s got the ball and he’s trying to get through you,” he said.
“There was no real specific plan against him.
“He’s a big strong man – you can see why he’s Brownlow favourite, he’s an absolute freak.
“At times, he had two or three of us hanging off him and still was able to get the ball out.”
The Hawks skipper had a massive influence on the contest, finishing with 31 disposals, five clearances and seven tackles.
He was also able to float forward and snag three goals – which was only the second time in the past three seasons he has kicked more than two goals in a match.
A handball receive and 40-metre goal on the run off his left foot in the final term was the icing on the cake for Hodge – who was one of the Hawks’ best – in his milestone game.
He said becoming the sixth player to lead the club for the 100th time had been a proud moment.
“To be able to be in the position to captain a great football club with such a rich history for 100 games, I hold that pretty close to my heart,” Hodge said.
“It’s something that no doubt when I finish up I’ll be very proud of.”
