Hawthorn is celebrating 25 years in Launceston by playing Melbourne, one of the only two teams it has not played to date at University of Tasmania Stadium.

This will leave Collingwood as the only club which has not played an AFL game at the venue, although the Magpies have featured in pre-season Community Series games in Launceston and, due to Covid, nearly played an AFL game there in 2021 before a late switch back to the MCG.

In contrast, the most common opponents for Hawthorn in Launceston have been Brisbane Lions and Fremantle who have both played the Hawks at University of Tasmania Stadium 12 times, followed by North Melbourne which has featured on 11 occasions, which will become 12 in Round 21.

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

Ben Dixon kicked Hawthorn’s first goal in Launceston at the 18-minute mark of the first quarter after taking a mark in the right forward pocket at the city-end. This came after the Crows had kicked the first 1.5 of the game and Shane Crawford had finally got the Hawks on the board with a behind at the 16-minute mark.

Two goals to John Barker gave the Hawks a six-point quarter time lead which they increased to 43 points by the 11-minute mark of the second quarter, after kicking nine goals in just over 20 minutes of playing time. Adelaide replied with four goals in quick succession before the game settled into a steadier pattern.

Hawthorn had 10 individual goalkickers, headed by Barker with three goals. An-ex Hawk, Darren Jarman, got the three Brownlow votes for the Crows and an ex-Crow, Lance Picioane, got the two votes for Hawthorn. Another Hawk, Rayden Tallis, got the one vote.

For individual highlights in Launceston, it is impossible to go past Lance Franklin’s 13 goals against North Melbourne in Round 10 2012.

Franklin did not kick his first for the day until the 31-minute mark of the opening term, his goal giving Hawthorn a seven-point quarter-time lead. He then kicked five in the second quarter and four in the third to become the first Hawks to reach 10 in a game since Jason Dunstall in the ‘merger match’ against Melbourne in 1996, some 16 years earlier.

However, Franklin was not done. He kicked his 11^th early in the final quarter and then added numbers 12 and 13, at the 29 and 31-minute marks respectively, the latter immortalised in the Anthony Hudson commentary of ‘13!’.

Franklin kicked 13.4 from his 22 kicks, also having one handball, taking 11 marks and laying six tackles. Hawthorn won the game by a colossal 115 points – 27.12.174 to 9.5.59. The Hawthorn score remains its highest at University of Tasmania Stadium.

University of Tasmania Stadium has certainly been the home of the thriller, with 15 of Hawthorn’s games there decided by six points or fewer, and 26 decided by 12 points or fewer.

The Hawks’ record in these games is remarkable with an 11-3 and one draw success rate in the games decided by six points or fewer, and an 19-6-1 record in those decided by 12 points or fewer.

The first AFL thriller in Launceston came in just the second game there in Round 3 2002. Coming off a Preliminary Final appearance in 2001, the Hawks had lost the opening two games of 2002, so were desperate for a Round 3 win against Fremantle.

All was going well when Hawthorn led by 20 points at half-time, but the Dockers fought back and the match was within a goal from late in the third quarter until, at the 20-minute mark of the last quarter, Justin Longmuir kicked his third goal to give Fremantle an eight-point lead. This made it eight goals to three since half-time and the Hawks looked in desperate trouble.

A goal to Angelo Lekkas rekindled the Hawks’ hopes before a brilliant snap from Richard Vandenberg at the 25-minute mark regained the lead. The match hung in the balance for the next five minutes before a brilliant Chance Bateman goal from the boundary in the left forward pocket sealed a memorable victory.

Skipper Shane Crawford received the three Brownlow votes for his 29-disposal game, while the unusual aspect of the day for Hawthorn fans was seeing ex (and future) Hawk, Trent Croad, playing against the club for the first time.

Over 25 years, Hawthorn has played 88 games at University of Tasmania Stadium, with the excellent record of 67 wins, one draw and just 20 defeats.

From 2012 to 2016, Hawthorn put together a sequence of 19 consecutive victories in Launceston. Currently, the Hawks are on a 12-game winning streak, which began in 2023.

In contrast, the longest run of consecutive losses is just three, recorded twice, in 2004-05 and in 2021.

One of the most spectacular individual efforts in Launceston was performed by Luke Hodge in Round 17 2013. Late in the second quarter he smothered a kick from the Bulldogs’ Ryan Griffen near the centre circle and instantly unleashed a 70-metre torpedo that sailed through for a goal.

The highest attendance for a Hawthorn game in Launceston is 20,971, which was achieved against Richmond in Round 12 2006.

There has been one other crowd above 20,000 which was 20,011 against St Kilda in Round 19 2009, while there have been a further four above 19,000.

Hawthorn has had some dramatic comebacks in Launceston, including recovering from 36 points down in the second quarter to defeat Carlton in Round 6 2019.

A 5.6 to 1.2 third quarter had Hawthorn right back in the game and then a Chad Wingard goal early in the final term gave the Hawks the lead. However, the Blues then responded with two goals before a run of four goals to James Cousins, Liam Shiels, Mitch Lewis and Luke Breust gave the Hawks a handy break. Another pair of Carlton goals gave the Hawks a late scare, but they held on to win by five points – 13.15.93 to 13.10.88.

Jaeger O’Meara had an inspired game, with a career-high 42 disposals, earning both the 10 Coaches’ votes and the three Brownlow votes.

Launceston has featured some notable player milestones, none more so than Shane Crawford playing his 300^th game there in Round 19 2008 against Brisbane Lions. The Hawks marked the occasion with an emphatic 69-point win – 16.14.110 to 5.11.41 – and Crawford himself was excellent, with 28 disposals and a goal.

Luke Hodge played his 200^th game versus Port Adelaide in 2012, and Ben McEvoy reached 250 AFL games in 2022. Chance Bateman and Lance Franklin doubled up, with both their 100^th and 150^th games in Launceston.

The Launceston milestones began with Luke McCabe playing his 100^th game in the very first game against Adelaide in 2001 and continue to Round 7 this season when Nick Watson played his 50^th game.

Hawthorn began its association with Launceston with just the single game in 2001, played two games each season from 2002 to 2005, three games in 2006 and then four games from 2007 onwards, except for the Covid-impacted seasons of 2020 and 2021. The most games Hawthorn has played in Launceston in a single season is six in 2021, which partially made up for the absence of any games in 2020.

The first Hawthorn debuts in Launceston occurred in Round 1 2006 when Grant Birchall made his AFL debut, along with Brent Guerra making his club debut. Unsurprisingly, it was another Round 1 game at the venue which produced the most debutants with the opening round of 2014 seeing three, including the club debut of future captain, Ben McEvoy.

The only current Hawthorn players to make their debuts in Launceston are Blake Hardwick, who made his first appearance against Carlton in Round 19 2016, and Cameron Nairn in the most recent match against Adelaide in Round 11. Between Hardwick and Nairn, five others made Launceston debuts, but all have subsequently departed the Hawks.

Luke Lowden broke a long-standing club record when his Launceston debut in Round 12 2014 ended up being his only game.

The record for most goals in a one-game Hawthorn career had stood since Round 1 1926, when Hawthorn’s new captain-coach, Dan Minogue kicked two majors. A serious injury meant this ended up being Minogue’s only game as a player in brown and gold and his record of multiple goals in his only game stood for 88 years.

That was until the 23-year-old Lowden kicked three goals in the Hawks’ 44-point victory over West Coast. Despite his goals, plus 12 disposals and with 15 hit-outs, Lowden did not get another opportunity in the star-studded Hawthorn team of the time, but he does have a unique record.

As a footnote, there are currently nine players who have kicked one goal in their only Hawthorn game (but this includes Will McCabe who hopefully will add to both his games and goals tally).

Hawthorn has had five players kick a ‘winning goal’ in Launceston.

The first was Jade Rawlings. In Round 2 2003, after leading almost all day, the Hawks fell behind at the 21-minute mark of the last quarter (but with just 2.44 minutes remaining). From the resultant centre bounce, Angelo Lekkas won the ball and forced it forward, where Adrian Cox gathered, who combined with Sam Mitchell and then Shane Crawford, the latter passing to Rawlings. Rawlings kicked his set shot truly to the city-end goal to give the Hawks a one-point lead. The Hawks handled the remaining two minutes well and fittingly Rawlings had the ball when the game ended, kicking a behind after the siren to make the final margin two points – 13.13.91 to 14.5.89.

The second was Xavier Ellis whose winning goal against Geelong in Round 4 2007 was his first career goal. In Geelong’s only Launceston game, things did not look promising for the Hawks when they failed to kick a goal in the opening term, but a better second quarter saw them back within a point by half-time. The game remained tight for the duration and Ellis’ goal came at the unusually early time of the 14-minute mark of the last quarter, In the final 15 minutes of play the only scores were three behinds to Hawthorn and one to Geelong leaving the final score, 10.16.76 to 9.18.72.

The third was Jarryd Roughead, who kicked the winning goal against Port Adelaide in Round 11 2018. Roughead goaled from a free kick, after two quick Power goals had seen Hawthorn slip five points behind entering time-on. After Roughead’s goal, behinds to Jack Gunston and Luke Breust made the final margin three points – 9.10.64 to 9.7.61.

The fourth was Luke Breust whose goal secured victory after the Hawks came from 19 points down at half-time to defeat GWS by six points – 12.13.85 to 12.7.79 – in Round 13 2024. With the Giants leading by one point beyond the 30-minute mark, a rushed behind levelled the scores and then a downfield free kick gave Breust the opportunity to snap truly from beside the left behind post at the northern end.

The most recent winning goal was kicked by Jai Newcombe on a cold June night in 2025. In a low-scoring affair, Hawthorn trailed for the whole game until Connor Macdonald snatched the lead at the 18-minute mark of the last quarter, with the first major for either team in the final term. Adelaide quickly regained the lead but, at the 25-minute mark, Newcombe kicked truly to give the Hawks a three-point advantage which they retained through several more minutes of action to win 6.11.47 to 5.14.44.

One of the stranger wins in a close game came in Round 6 2021. Playing Adelaide on Anzac Day and celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the first game in Launceston, the notable feature of the game was that Adelaide kicked 15-straight goals before registering a behind. Half-way through the third quarter, the Hawks trailed by 32 points, but five consecutive Hawthorn goals cut the margin to one-point by the five-minute mark of the last quarter.

Incredibly, in what to that stage had been a high-scoring game, neither side kicked a further goal, with the Hawks edging ahead by kicking five behinds to one to record a 15.12.102 to 16.3.99 victory. Jacob Koschitzke earned a Rising Star nomination for his five goals, sharing best player honours with Jaeger O’Meara.

As well as close wins, Hawthorn has recorded some victories by massive margins in Launceston, including four by over 100 points. Hawthorn defeated North Melbourne by 115 points in the game when Lance Franklin kicked 13 goals and had a pair of 116-point victories against the WA clubs, Fremantle (2010) and West Coast (2023). However, the biggest margin was 124 points against North in Round 24 2024.

Needing to win to guarantee Finals football for the first time since 2018, the Hawks built their lead at every change from 21 points at quarter-time to 55 at half-time and then 66 at the final change before unleashing a 10.4 to 1.0 last quarter to win 26.14.170 to 7.4.46. With 35 disposals and a goal, Jai Newcombe secured the 10 Coaches’ votes and the three Brownlow votes.

In Launceston games decided by 10-goal plus margins, Hawthorn has a 14-2 record and in games decided by 43 points or more, the record is an incredible 24-2 in the Hawks’s favour.

Luke Breust has played the most games for Hawthorn at University of Tasmania Stadium, making 53 appearances at the ground, followed by Shaun Burgoyne and Luke Hodge with 46 (both of whom also played extra games there for other clubs).

Jarryd Roughead has the record for most goals with 102 from 44 games, followed by Lance Franklin with 94 (plus six for Sydney) and Breust with 93. Roughead kicked an equal career-high bag of eight goals in Launceston, in Round 12 2014, against West Coast.

Hawthorn has twice opened its season with games in Launceston, recording victories against Fremantle (2006) and Brisbane Lions (2014). It has also twice played its final game of the home and away season at University of Tasmania Stadium, losing to Western Bulldogs (2022) and thrashing North Melbourne (2024).

Hawthorn’s only draw in Launceston was provided by a memorable game against GWS in Round 16 2017, which had significant momentum shifts throughout the day.

Wearing distinctive pink and brown guernseys, the Hawks appeared to be on track to a comfortable win when a Shaun Burgoyne goal at the three-minute mark of the last quarter stretched the lead to 21 points. However, over the next 20 minutes, GWS added 5.4 to 0.0 to take a 13-point lead and the Hawks seemed doomed.

A goal and behind to Luke Breust rekindled Hawthorn’s chances before, with just seconds remaining, a shot from Will Langford took an auspicious bounce to sail over the defenders’ heads to level the scores. From the restart, the Hawks surged forward again, but the siren sounded before the ball could be forced through for a winning score.

In Round 15 2015, Launceston hosted Hawthorn’s home game against league-leader Fremantle, which had a 13-1 record to that point in the season. The Hawks won by 72 points – 17.13.115 to 6.7.43 – with Sam Mitchell (39 disposals and a goal) and Luke Hodge (31 disposals and 3 goals) both outstanding.

While Hawthorn’s lowest winning score in Launceston is 6.11.47 against Adelaide last season, the lowest winning score by an opponent of Hawthorn in Launceston is 74 points, kicked by St Kilda in 2009. There have been 44 losing opposition scores of 72 points and below and on 14 of those occasions, the opposition has failed to reach 50 points. The lowest opposition score in Launceston is 4.2.26 by West Coast in 2023.

As well as 88 home games in Launceston, Hawthorn has also played two away games in Hobart.

The first was at North Hobart Oval in 1991 and saw the Hawks defeat Fitzroy by a then record winning margin of 157 points and kick what remains the club record score of 36.15.231. The second was a 46-point victory against North Melbourne at Bellerive in 2022 in which Jack Gunston kicked five goals.

There have been 10 AFL games played in Launceston which did not involve Hawthorn. Eight of these were St Kilda home games from 2003 to 2006 and the other two were Elimination Finals in 2021, which were played at University of Tasmania Stadium due to Covid.