Hawthorn will return to UTAS Stadium with a game against its first opponent there in Adelaide. 

The first game was in Round 6 2001 and saw the Hawks defeat Adelaide by 13 points – 16.8.104 to 12.19.91.

With the Hawks trailing 0.1 to 1.5 at the 18-minute mark of the first quarter, Ben Dixon kicked Hawthorn’s first goal at the venue. John Barker finished with three goals, while Daniel Harford and Tony Woods had the equal most disposals for the Hawks with 26 apiece.

Thursday night will be the eighth clash of the Hawks and Crows in Launceston, with Hawthorn holding a 5-2 lead in the head-to-head.

Since 2001, Hawthorn has played 87 games at University of Tasmania Stadium, with an excellent record of 66 wins, one draw and just 20 defeats. From 2012 to 2016, the Hawks put together a sequence of 19 consecutive victories at the ground and are currently on an 11-game winning streak, which began in 2023.

The attendance of 68,557 at the MCG last Saturday was a new record for a home and away game between Hawthorn and Melbourne. The only previous crowd above 60,000 in the regular season was at the ‘merger match’ in Round 22 1996, when the attendance was 63,196.

The record crowd against Melbourne followed one against Fremantle in the previous round and new records against both Geelong and Western Bulldogs earlier in the season. The previous two seasons also saw the Hawks have new record home and away crowds against Adelaide, Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Essendon, and Richmond, which means there have been new records for Hawthorn against nine of the 17 opposition clubs since the start of the 2024 season.

Hawthorn and Adelaide played three times last season, with the Hawks winning twice, at University of Tasmania Stadium in Round 14 and in the Semi Final at the Adelaide Oval.

In total, the Hawks and Crows have played 52 times, with Hawthorn holding a 29-23 advantage. Hawthorn won 10 of 11 encounters between 2012 and 2019 before there was a period of alternating results, but the Hawks have regained a degree of ascendancy with four wins in the past five encounters.

Mitch Lewis needs one more goal to reach 150 career goals after his two majors against Melbourne took him to 149. He currently is 40^th on the all-time list of Hawthorn goalkickers, nestled between Ken Judge (157 goals) and a pair on 145, Jim Bohan and Jordan Lewis.

Round 11 has historically been one of Hawthorn’s less successful rounds, with 40 wins, two draws and 57 defeats from 99 games (with byes in 2013 and 2015). Hawthorn won its Round 11 games in 2023 and 2024, both at Docklands, in the former coming from behind to defeat St Kilda by 10 points and in the latter downing the Brisbane Lions by 25 points. However, last season, the Lions reversed that result with a comfortable MCG win against the Hawks.

10 years ago, in Round 11 2016, Hawthorn made it 13 wins in a row against Melbourne with a regulation 18-point victory – 11.16.82 to 10.4.64. Jack Gunston kicked three goals, and both Jordan Lewis and Isaac Smith gathered 29 disposals.

30 years ago, in Round 11 1996, Hawthorn backed up its win the previous week against Fremantle in Perth with a thrilling victory against Adelaide at Waverley. The Hawks trailed the Crows by 39 points early in the second quarter but finished strongly to win 16.12.108 to 14.15.99. Jason Dunstall kicked nine goals, including five in the third quarter. Dunstall put Hawthorn in front in the final term before Tim Hargreaves kicked the sealer.

40 years ago, in Round 11 1986, Hawthorn thrashed Melbourne at Princes Park by 85 points – 21.19.145 to 9.6.60. The Hawks had 13 individual goalkickers, headed by Gary Buckenara with four. This game provided Robert Diperdomenico with one of his three-vote games in his Brownlow-winning year and deservedly so, as he had 41 disposals and kicked two goals. Two other Hawks, Terry Wallace and Richard Loveridge, both reached 30 disposals and two goals.

50 years ago, in Round 11 1976, a massive crowd of 33,692 packed into Princes Park for a top-of-the-table holiday Monday clash between Hawthorn and Geelong. In a tight, tough encounter, the Hawks prevailed by 12 points - 11.22.88 to 11.10.76 - with Leigh Matthews and Alan Goad among the best.

90 years ago, in Round 11, 1936, scores were level at both quarter and half-time before Hawthorn pulled away from North Melbourne at Glenferrie to win by 14 points – 8.19.67 to 7.11.53. Norm Hillard kicked three goals, and Alf Neeson was rated the best player for his outstanding game in defence.

This Thursday night will see Hawthorn play on 21 May for just the second time in over 40 years. The one other game on this date in the past four decades was as recent as Sunday, 21 May 2023, when the Hawks thrashed West Coast by 116 points at University of Tasmania Stadium. Hawthorn’s other victories on the date were in 1938 and 1977, whereas there have been seven losses on 21 May, the most recent in 1983.

Jason Dunstall holds the Hawthorn individual goal-kicking record against Adelaide, kicking nine goals on three separate occasions – in 1993 and 1994 (both at Football Park) and in 1996 (at Waverley). Peter Hudson holds the Hawthorn Round 11 record with 13 goals against South Melbourne at Glenferrie in 1969.