On Saturday night, James Sicily will become the 39^th individual to play 200 VFL/AFL games for Hawthorn.

Sicily will be just the sixth player to reach the milestone as captain, following in the footsteps of Graham Arthur (1966), Don Scott (1976 – in the Grand Final), Shane Crawford (2002), Luke Hodge (2012) and Ben Stratton (2020).  In addition, Jason Dunstall was acting captain when he played his 200^th game in 1994.

Several other 200-gamers had already completed spells as captain when they reached 200 games (John Peck, David Parkin and Sam Mitchell), while others subsequently became captain (Leigh Matthews, Michael Tuck, Gary Ayres and Jarryd Roughead).

Sicily is the second Hawthorn to celebrate the 200-game milestone this season after Blake Hardwick in Round 1. The only other current Hawk to have reached 200 games for the club, Jack Gunston, played his 200^th game for the club on Easter Monday 2022. Hawthorn’s 39 200-gamers will move the club into outright fourth in the competition for most 200-gamers, behind only Geelong (45), Carlton and Collingwood (both 40).

And the good news is that Hawthorn has an outstanding 28-10 win-loss record in 200-game milestone games, including a 12-2 record in the past 20 years.

Hawthorn has won 13 of its last 14 home games against Collingwood, with the sole defeat, in 2022, being by just four points.

The Hawks won 10 consecutive home games against the Magpies prior to the 2022 glitch and have won the encounters at home in the past three seasons by 32, 66 and 64 points.

Overall, recent results between the clubs have seen alternating winners, until the first draw between the two occurred earlier this season. In total, from 174 games, Hawthorn has won 72 and Collingwood 101, with a draw, the deficit of 29 being a massive improvement from when it was 56 in 1974 (15-71).

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In their four AFLW seasons to date, the Hawthorn AFLW team has played 21 home games across three venues - 16 at Frankston, three in Cairns and two at Box Hill.

On Thursday night, the Hawks start their 2026 campaign with a fourth venue for a home game, Princes (Ikon) Park, a ground which delivered hugely successful results as a home venue for the men’s team. From 1974 to 1991, Hawthorn played 153 home games at Princes Park, winning 113 and losing just 40, a winning percentage of 73.9. The Hawks won seven Premierships in those 18 seasons.

Let’s hope being a home venue will bring a change of fortune for the women as it did for the men. The men had a 10-37 record at Princes Park before it became a home ground, and the women are 0-4 after four Finals defeats there in the past two seasons.

It will be the Hawks’ third AFLW clash with Melbourne, previously losing at Frankston in 2023, but winning in Cairns in 2024. There has yet to be an away game against the Demons.

Hawthorn has won two Premierships after enduring heavier losses than the 67-point defeat by Brisbane Lions last Friday night.

The 1986 Hawks suffered an 87-point mauling by Essendon at Windy Hill in Round 18 (after a 51-point loss to Fitzroy the previous week) but bounced back to win the Flag. In 1991, Hawthorn suffered two heavy early-season defeats, losing away to Adelaide by 86 points and at home to West Coast by 82 points.

The other extreme was provided by the 1989 Hawks, with the heaviest defeat of that team’s three losses for the season being by just 16 points, to Brisbane at Carrara in Round 20.

This Saturday’s game date marks 45 years since a significant event in club history. On Saturday, 15 August 1981, Don Scott became the first player to reach the 300-game milestone for the club. Against St Kilda at Waverley, the Hawks marked the occasion with a dour nine-point win – 10.17.77 to 9.14.68. The former skipper had 23 disposals to go with his 21 hit-outs.

Hawthorn has played 16 games in Round 23, for 13 wins (including the first 11), one draw (2021) and two losses (2022 and 2023). The Hawks had a bye in Round 23 in 1992, and there was no Round 23 in 2020. This is the eighth AFL season when Round 23 has been the penultimate round (1991-92, 1994, 2011 and 2023-26). In all other cases, it was the final round.

10 years ago, in Round 23 2016, a late Jack Fitzpatrick goal, followed by a Paul Puopolo behind, secured Hawthorn a one-point win against Collingwood and a double-chance in the Finals.

Collingwood had the better of the first half of the Sunday afternoon MCG fixture, before the Hawks produced a 6.1-2.2 third quarter to take the lead. After the Magpies levelled the scores at the seven-minute mark of the final term, three quick goals gave Hawthorn an 18-point lead half-way through the quarter. However, Collingwood responded, piling on the next four goals to grab a six-point advantage before club debutant Fitzpatrick’s goal from out of the centre and Puopolo’s behind saved the day.

Luke Breust and Cyril Rioli both kicked three goals, while Sam Mitchell had 31 disposals. The victory ensured Hawthorn finished in third place and would face Geelong in a Qualifying Final.

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

Dunstall also holds the Round 23 record with a tally of six, which included his 1000^th career goal, against Brisbane at the Gabba in 1994.