Nick Watson has become the seventh current Hawk to lead the club’s goalkicking during a season.

Watson’s three goals against the Suns took him to 36 goals for 2026, one ahead of Jack Gunston.

Gunston first led the club goalkicking after Round 18 2015 followed, in early 2016, by James Sicily, with other current players to lead it being Dylan Moore, Mitch Lewis, Mabior Chol and Will Day. Gunston (four times) and Chol (2024) are the only current Hawks to have finished as leading goalkicker at the end of a season.

This week’s game will see Hawthorn and GWS meeting in Melbourne for just the fifth time.

There have been three previous Hawthorn home games at the MCG against the Giants (2012, 2014 and 2019), plus an away game in 2021. The 2021 game was shifted from Sydney in a piece of last-minute Covid-era fixturing and is perhaps best remembered for a spectacular Tim O’Brien mark in the second quarter. GWS is one of only two teams which Hawthorn has not played at Docklands.

The Hawks have won the four previous MCG encounters, the first by a massive 162 points, but the subsequent three have been closer with margins of seven, 33 and 18. Including games in Launceston, Hawthorn has had seven home games against the Giants, winning six and drawing one.

This will be only the second time the Hawks and Giants have met on a Friday night, the other being the game in the snow at Manuka Oval in Canberra in 2019. Hawthorn won by 56 points, keeping the Giants goalless in the second half.

After the Giants victory in Opening Round this season, the overall head-to-head between the clubs is all square, with nine wins apiece, plus a 2017 draw, in the 19 games between the two clubs since GWS entered the competition in 2012.

Jai Newcombe has reached 50 votes in the Coaches’ Award for the home and away season for the third time. He currently sits in equal eighth with 54 votes which follows him receiving 63 votes in 2023 and 69 votes in 2024. Excluding his half-season debut year of 2021, he has polled at least 44 votes in every season he has played. He has also polled 33 Gary Ayres Award votes from the coaches in his five Finals.

The Hawks’ Round 16 record is one of the club’s best with 53 wins, 47 losses and one draw (in 2017 against GWS) from 101 games.

Hawthorn won nine consecutive Round 16 matches from 1956 to 1964, a further eight (1968-75), and six (1989-94). The past two seasons have seen big wins in Round 16, by 61 points against West Coast in Perth in 2024 and by 85 points versus North Melbourne at University of Tasmania Stadium last season.

10 years ago, in Round 16 2016, Hawthorn had a Thursday night game against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval. In the first half, Port twice got to an eight-point lead, but the Hawks gradually got on top and won by 22 points – 15.11.101 to 12.7.79. Luke Hodge and Cyril Rioli vied for best-on-ground honours, with Hodge getting three Brownlow votes and eight Coaches votes, whereas Rioli got two Brownlow and nine Coaches’ votes.

30 years ago, in Round 16 1996, Hawthorn continued its stunning revival with a comprehensive Saturday night thrashing of reigning Premier Carlton at Waverley Park. After nine rounds the Hawks had managed just two wins and a draw but now, after six wins in seven games, Hawthorn had climbed into the Eight. The Hawks doubled Carlton’s score to win 15.8.98 to 7.7.49, with Paul Hudson kicking four goals and Jason Dunstall three. The Brownlow Medal votes went to Paul Salmon, Shane Crawford and John Platten.

40 years ago, in Round 16 1986, Rod Lester-Smith kicked a career-high six goals as the Hawks cruised to a 67-point win against Melbourne – 17.15.117 to 6.14.50. Terry Wallace, Richard Loveridge and John Platten all had more than 30 disposals as part of a dominant midfield, while Robert Dipierdomenico, Gary Buckenara and Chris Langford were all excellent.

60 years ago, in Round 16 1966, the Hawks won their fifth game for the season thrashing Footscray at Glenferrie by 52 points – 18.11.119 to 9.13.67. Two 1961 Premiership players, Morton Browne and John Peck, both kicked four goals while one first-year star and future 1971 Premiership player, Peter Crimmins, contributed three goals and another, Des Meagher, was rated best-on-ground.

70 years ago, in Round 16 1956, after trailing at every change, Hawthorn stormed home to defeat St Kilda by 17 points – 15.8.98 to 12.9.81. John Cooper kicked a career-high four goals, and the best players included Roy Simmonds, Brendan Edwards and Kevin Coghlan.

90 years ago, in Round 16 1936, Hawthorn recorded its first ever win against Richmond. Going into this encounter, the Tigers had won all 21 previous games between the clubs but on this day a Glenferrie Oval crowd of 9,000 saw Hawthorn triumph by two points – 15.12.102 to 14.16.100. The Age reported that Hawthorn gave a ‘polished exhibition’ as well as displaying ‘stamina and grit’ to hang on in the dying stages, helped by some superb defensive efforts by captain-coach, Ivan McAlpine.

Jarryd Roughead holds the Hawks’ individual goals record against GWS kicking six in 2012 at the MCG.

Peter Hudson, Jason Dunstall and Dermott Brereton share the Round 16 Hawthorn individual goal-kicking record with 11 goals. Hudson kicked 11 in 1970, equalled by Dunstall in 1989 and Brereton in 1990.