Jordan Lewis will this week become one of the youngest individuals to play 200 games for Hawthorn. When he takes the field against St Kilda, Lewis will be 28 years and 9 days old, which will make him the 6th youngest of the 28 Hawthorn 200 gamers.
Alan Martello holds both the Hawthorn and VFL-AFL records for reaching 200 games at the youngest age. He did so when just 25 years and 360 days. Others Hawks to reach the milestone at a young age were Leigh Matthews, Geoff Ablett, Shane Crawford and Rodney Eade, who all did so when they were aged 27. At the other end of the scale, David Parkin was the oldest at the time of his 200th Hawthorn game, 31 years 269 days.
It is also worth mentioning another ex-Hawk Russell Greene, who is 4th youngest to play 200 VFL-AFL games. His 200th League game came when he was just 26 years and 74 days, but he played the first 120 games of his career at St Kilda before transferring to Hawthorn so he is not on the Hawthorn 200 games list.
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After a draw at Docklands in 2010, Hawthorn has won its last three games against St Kilda. In 2011, the Hawks overcame a 32 point quarter time deficit to win by 30 points, won by 35 points in 2012 and brought up the hat trick with a 46 point win in Round 20 last season.
Overall, the two clubs have met 150 times with the Hawks winning 77 and the Saints 71, plus two draws. Hawthorn won 20 consecutive games against St Kilda from 1979 to 1989, while the longest losing sequence was 11 from 1933 to 1940.
Hawthorn has been drawn to play St Kilda less than any other club in recent home and away seasons. 2007 is the only season since 2001 when the two clubs have met twice in the regular season, although they ended up playing twice in 2008 as they met in the Preliminary Final.
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The only previous game between Hawthorn and St Kilda on 3 May was way back in 1930, when it was the opening match of the season. The underdog Mayblooms trailed by 27 points at one stage, but then fought back to win by 11 points to start the season with a win for the first time in its VFL history. Bert Hyde kicked 5 goals but the unlikely hero was 6 foot 7 inch (200cm) St Kilda discard Len ‘Tiny’ Mills who kicked 3 goals, including the sealer.
Since that good start in 1930, Hawthorn has generally continued to perform well on 3 May, winning 9 of 13 games played on the date. The most recent victory on the date was a 65 point thumping of Collingwood in 2008.
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Hawthorn’s Round 7 record is 42 wins, 46 losses and one draw. Hawthorn has won its last three Round 7 games, against Port Adelaide (2011), Melbourne (2012) and Sydney last season. The 1970s brought much Round 7 happiness - the Hawks won eight consecutive Round 7 matches from 1971 to 1978.
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20 years ago, in Round 7 1994, Hawthorn continued its revival, after three heavy defeats from Rounds 2 to 4, defeating reigning Premiers Essendon by 13 points at Waverley – 12.16.88 to 11.9.75. Jason Dunstall kicked 4 goals, while Tim Hargreaves and Paul Hudson contributed 2 each. Anthony Condon (31 disposals), Shane Crawford (25) and Ben Allan (24) were prolific possession winners while Ray Jencke and Chris Langford led a very solid defence.
30 years ago, in Round 7 1984, Hawthorn trailed Fitzroy by 26 points late in the third quarter but then added 4.1.to 0.0 in time-on to reduce the margin to a point at three quarter time. The Hawks then kicked 6.8 to 2.0 to surge away to a 31 point win. Leigh Matthews had 24 disposals and kicked 7 goals but was pipped for the 3 Brownlow votes by ruckman Michael Byrne. Robert Dipierdomenico received the umpire’s 1 vote which no doubt left Ken Judge feeling a bit under appreciated by the men in white. He had collected 23 disposals and kicked 6 goals in a highly effective afternoon’s work at Princes Park.
40 years ago, in Round 7 1974, Hawthorn and Carlton met as co-tenants at Princes Park for the first time. A crowd of 21,266 saw Leigh Matthews kick 5 goals and Michael Moncrieff 4, while Peter Crimmins and Geoff Ablett each had 21 kicks.
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Round 7 produced the best individual goal kicking performance in Hawthorn history and the equal second best in VFL-AFL history – Jason Dunstall’s 17 against Richmond at Waverley in 1992. Peter Hudson holds the record for the highest number of goals by a Hawthorn player against St Kilda, kicking 12 at Glenferrie in Round 15 1971 in a match which was a preview of the season’s Grand Final.
