50 years ago, in 1973, Hawthorn also played Collingwood in Round 21, in a game which will always be remembered for Peter Hudson arriving at Waverley by helicopter.

Hudson had not played since injuring his knee in Round 1 1972 but, with Hawthorn in desperate need of a boost to keep its Finals hopes alive, coach John Kennedy summoned Hudson from running his hotel in Hobart to come to Melbourne and play.

Hudson had to stay on duty at his hotel on Friday night, so could only fly to Melbourne on Saturday morning. Then, the only way to guarantee he would get from Tullamarine to Waverley in time was by helicopter.

A crowd of 48,312 saw Hudson begin the game well with three early goals and, despite needing treatment on his knee, he kept playing and kicked eight outstanding goals.

However, the Hawks, having led by 16-points at quarter time, could not sustain the advantage against top team Collingwood and lost by 18 points - 16.10.106 to 13.10.88.

Luke Breust kicked six goals for the fifth time in his career last Sunday, but it was the first time he had done so in a losing team. His previous highest tally in a losing team was five versus North Melbourne in 2018. Breust now needs just one more goal to reach 40 goals in a season for the eighth time.

The 25-year-old Brandon Ryan has provided only the second instance this century of a Hawthorn debutant, without previous experience at another AFL club, to be aged 25 years or over. The other was the 27-year-old David Mirra in 2018.

The oldest player to debut for Hawthorn, without having previous experience at another VFL-AFL club, was the 31-year-old Jim Logan in 1942. Older debutants were quite common in earlier years, but since 1990 other rare examples also include Greg Whittlesea, Craig Treleven and Kris Barlow. To highlight Ryan’s age, only six of his teammates on Sunday were older than him.

Hawthorn has won 13 of its last 16 games against Collingwood, the only blemishes being an 18-point loss in 2017, a 32-point defeat in 2020 and a four-point nail-biter in Round 12 last season. The Hawks’ sequence of nine consecutive victories against the Magpies from 2012 to 2016 was a club record.

St Kilda’s 100-plus score on Sunday tied up Hawthorn’s centuries for and against at 703 apiece.

At the end of the 1967 season, Hawthorn had conceded 192 more centuries than it had scored but then the Hawks clawed back the deficit to draw level in the final round of 2014 and went ahead during the 2014 Finals. By late 2018, Hawthorn had scored 21 more centuries than it had conceded, but now the pendulum has swung back to parity again.

Since it was first contested in 1970, Round 21 has been one of the best rounds for Hawthorn, with 38 wins and only 14 defeats, including victories in 13 consecutive Round 21 matches between 1982 and 1994, and eight consecutive wins from 2006 to 2013. Hawthorn has now had six more Round 21 wins in a row, beating North Melbourne (2016 and 2017), Geelong (2018), GWS in the Canberra snow in 2019, Collingwood in 2021 and Gold Coast last season. There was no Round 21 in 2020.

A feature of Hawthorn’s Round 21 wins has been massive winning margins. In fact, five of the 27 one hundred-point victories in Hawthorn history have occurred in Round 21, more than in any other round. These were in 1983 (versus Melbourne), 1986 (Geelong), 1991 (Fitzroy), 2010 (Fremantle) and 2011 (Port Adelaide).

10 years ago, in Round 21 2013, Hawthorn had another Collingwood game and a Friday night crowd of 71, 533 saw the Hawks increase their lead at every change to emerge victorious by 35 points – 18.11.119 to 12.12.84. Luke Hodge received 10 Coaches’ votes and three Brownlow votes, with Josh Gibson getting seven votes from the coaches and two from the umpires.

20 years ago, in Round 21 2003, the Hawks continued their improved late season form beating Carlton by 74 points at the MCG. A particular highlight was keeping the Blues scoreless in the final term. Nathan Thompson booted six goals, while Shane Crawford and Joel Smith were both outstanding.

30 years ago, in Round 21 1993, Hawthorn blew Adelaide away with a stunning 8.6 to 0.1 opening term at Waverley. The Crows gradually made the score more respectable, only losing by 27 points – 17.13.115 to 13.10.88. Jason Dunstall kicked eight goals, while Ben Allan (32 disposals), Darren Jarman (31) and Paul Cooper (28) dominated the midfield.

40 years ago, in Round 21 1983, Hawthorn thrashed Melbourne at Waverley by 115 points – 25.22.172 to 8.9.57. The leading goalkickers make a handy list as Michael Tuck kicked six, Dermott Brereton and Terry Wallace each booted four, while the 31-year-old pair of Leigh Matthews and Peter Knights each contributed three. As well as his four goals, Wallace gathered an amazing 44 possessions – 35 kicks and 9 handballs – a new club record.

Jason Dunstall and Peter Hudson share Hawthorn’s Round 21 individual goalkicking record. Hudson kicked nine goals in Round 21 in both 1970 and 1971, while Dunstall recorded the same tally in 1986 and 1989.

Dunstall also holds the Hawthorn record for most goals in a game versus Collingwood, having booted 11 in both the 1989 and 1990 seasons. Next best was Michael Moncrieff’s 10 in 1976.