2025 has now become the third season in 100 years that Hawthorn has lost in Round 5 after winning the first four games.

The previous two such seasons were 1986 and 2014, both of which ended up becoming premiership years.

Hawthorn’s previous meetings with Geelong in Round 6 include the amazing game at Princes Park in 1989 when the Hawks came from 56 points down late in the second quarter to defeat the Cats by eight points. This remains the second-biggest comeback in Hawthorn history and fourth-biggest in VFL-AFL history.

The high-scoring match at Princes Park saw Geelong lead by 19, 49 and 19 again at the breaks before the Hawks stormed home to win 26.15.171 to 25.13.163. The goals were shared amongst 11 players headed by Gary Buckenara (5), Dermott Brereton (5), Jason Dunstall (4) and Tony Hall (3), while Gary Ayres was at his brilliant best in the engine room.

Ten years later, in Round 6 1999, Hawthorn celebrated the 10^th anniversary of the 1989 game with a gutsy two-point win against the Cats in front of 27,341 at Kardinia Park - 14.16.100 to 14.14.98. Shane Crawford got the three Brownlow votes on his way to winning the medal that season.

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Luke Breust’s last quarter goal against Port Adelaide took him to 550 career goals and into an outright place in the top 50 all-time VFL-AFL goalkickers. He had previously been sharing 50^th place on 549 goals with Peter Daicos, Warren Tredrea and Fraser Gehrig.

It is a tribute to Breust’s incredible consistency that he is the only player in the top 50 who has never kicked more than six goals in a game. In fact, it is now more than 10 years since any Hawthorn player has kicked more than six goals in a game, with Jarryd Roughead the last to exceed that number when he booted seven against Western Bulldogs in Round 3 2015.

The nature of the modern game has made this easily the longest period in Hawthorn’s 100 VFL-AFL years without anybody reaching seven goals. This is highlighted by the fact that a player did so in Hawthorn’s two winless seasons, 1928 and 1950, with Bert Hyde kicking seven in the former year and ‘Butch’ Prior booting an eight in the latter.

Jack Gunston’s outstanding six-goal haul on Sunday night makes it 11 instances of six goals being recorded since Roughead’s seven, with the bags of six in the past decade provided by Breust five times, Gunston three times, with one each from Cyril Rioli, Roughead and Mitch Lewis.

Overall, it was the fourth time that Gunston kicked six goals in his Hawthorn career and the fifth time in his AFL career. His previous three six-goal contributions for the Hawks also included another against Port Adelaide in 2019, and another in a losing team, versus North Melbourne in 2014. The other was against Carlton in 2015. He now needs just one more goal to become the ninth Hawk to reach 450 career goals for the club.

This round marks the 55^th anniversary of Hawthorn’s first game at Waverley. In Round 6 1970, the Hawks maintained their dismal record of never having won their opening game at any new venue.

Remarkably, given this was a game between the 1969 premiers and the future 1971 premiers, it was a bottom-of-the-table clash, with the 11^th-placed Tigers prevailing over the last-placed Hawks by seven points – 21.11.137 to 20.10.130. Peter Hudson kicked eight goals, and Peter Crimmins was outstanding with 27 kicks and five goals.

The Hawks soon found their Waverley mojo, winning their next six matches at the venue. In 30 seasons and 211 games at Waverley, Hawthorn had an outstanding record, winning 140 and losing 71.

Sad news last week with the passing of 1971 Premiership player Ken Beck. Recruited from Stawell, Beck played 143 games from 1962 to 1972, kicking 23 goals.

One regular reader of Footy Flashbacks has asked whether the 198cm Beck was the tallest Hawthorn player ever when he made his debut in Round 12 1962.  The answer is that he was the equal third tallest at that time behind Len ‘Tiny’ Mills (203cm) and Bill Joiner (200cm) and level with Clayton ‘Candles’ Thompson. There have now been 28 players with a height of 200cm or above, with Ned Reeves the tallest at 210cm.

Hawthorn had an outstanding record in away games against Geelong in the mid to late 1990s, winning four times in five seasons, all by narrow margins: five points (1995), two (1996), six (1997) and two again (1999). These four victories contributed to a remarkable 14 seasons from 1987 and 2000, when the Hawks had 10 wins by less than two goals in games against the Cats, including in three Finals. In the 25 games between the clubs in those years, the Hawks won 20 and Geelong just five (none in close games).

Overall, Hawthorn trails Geelong 76 to 95 in the head-to-head, with one draw (in 1963) after 172 games between the two clubs.

Hawthorn will be trying to extend its current run of eight consecutive wins at the MCG which is the second longest in club history at the venue, only exceeded by the club record 13 consecutive MCG wins in 2014-15. The third longest was seven consecutive victories in 1991-93.

Overall, in Round 6, Hawthorn has played 96 times (having had four byes) and won 43 and lost 53.

40 years ago, in Round 6 1985, the Hawks travelled to Fitzroy’s latest home ground at Victoria Park and won 19.16.130 to 15.12.102. The leading goalkickers for the Hawks were the 33-year-old pair of Leigh Matthews and Peter Knights who both contributed four majors. Others to make a significant contribution to the win were Russell Greene (30 disposals) and Peter Russo (27).

60 years ago, in Round 6 1965, Hawthorn was at home to Footscray and set up a win with a 5.2 to 0.3 opening term. From there, the Bulldogs gradually reduced the margin to the final one of just seven points. The Hawks won 12.9.81 to 10.14.74, with John Peck kicking four goals and Graham Arthur three.

The individual goal-kicking record for a Hawthorn player versus Geelong is 12 by Jason Dunstall in 1990 and 1992, both at Waverley and both in Round 1.

Dunstall shares the Hawthorn individual goals record for Round 6 with Lance Franklin. Dunstall kicked nine goals in both 1992 and 1993, versus Collingwood and Adelaide respectively, a tally equalled by Franklin against Essendon in 2007.