Hawthorn 6.0 12.2 16.4 19.9 (123)
West Coast 6.2 7.6 12.7 16.7 (103)
Goals: Hawthorn: Roughead 5, Gunston 5, Breust 3, Franklin 2, Savage 2, Lewis, Simpkin
West Coast: Kennedy 5, LeCras 2, Shuey 2, Selwood, Naitanui, Masten, Darling, Cox, Dalziell, Priddis
Best: Hawthorn: Roughead, Hodge, Breust, Lake, Mitchell, Franklin, Gunston
West Coast: Cox, Kennedy, Selwood, Gaff, Shuey, Mackenzie
Hawthorn was made to work hard for its victory on Friday night, with West Coast playing one of its best games for the year.
The Eagles regained four star players for the clash, and the quality of their football improved given the calibre of players that made the trip for the clash at Etihad Stadium.
West Coast actually had more of the ball and used it better than the Hawks all night, but the Hawthorn defence was steadfast in its ability to restrict the scoring power of the Eagles.
Josh Kennedy booted five goals but other than multiple goals to Mark LeCras and Luke Shuey, the Eagles had nowhere near the scoring power of Hawthorn.
The Hawks had five players who kicked multiple goals, including two five goal hauls from Jarryd Roughead and Jack Gunston.
Scoring power
In the end, it was the efficiency of Hawthorn going forward that won it the game on the fast track at Etihad Stadium.
Gunston (five) and Roughead (five) booted 10 goals between them, while Luke Breust chipped in with three and Lance Franklin and Shane Savage booted two each.
Hawthorn’s forward line has kicked the most goals of any side this season, and once again it proved to be the reason why the Hawks found a way to win despite having fewer inside 50s than its opponent.
As has been West Coast’s struggle all season, their forward simply aren’t kicking as many goals as in previous seasons.
Spearhead Kennedy kicked five and LeCras two, but Jack Darling failed to fire, managing just one goal.
Darling is West Coast’s second best scoring option, second on the club’s goal kicking leader board behind Kennedy.
Resting ruckmen Dean Cox (two scoring shots) and Nic Naitanui (one shot) also failed to fire in their roles up forward, managing to kick just one goal each.
The Eagles forwards simply weren’t as dangerous as Hawthorn’s a statement best illustrated in the first half.
In the opening quarter, West Coast had a massive 21 inside 50s to nine – but led by just two points at the first break having kicked 6.2 to 6.0 for the term.
In the second quarter, the story was similar, as Hawthorn was more efficient despite having one more inside 50 that West Coast.
The Hawks outscored the Eagles 6.2 to 1.4 to take a handsome 26 point lead into the main break.
Credit to Hawks’ defence
Hawthorn’s 11th win in a row is a credit not only to the power of its midfield and its forward line – two areas in which have been their strongest in recent times, but also to its defence.
An area of the ground that has been perceived to be Hawthorn’s weakest link since arguably, 2009, has turned into a weapon for Alastair Clarkson.
The Hawthorn recruiting team has carefully eyed players from other clubs and traded successfully into its defence, probably most notably when it acquired Josh Gibson from North Melbourne.
The result – the Hawthorn defence is now one of the strongest in the competition having conceded only 1,000 points against this season to rank fifth best in the league.
That fact was probably best illustrated in the second quarter, when the Eagles had 14 inside 50s for 1.4.
Brian Lake and Gibson form a formidable duo as key backs, while Ben Stratton is a no-fuss defender who puts his defensive game before all else.
Then there’s the captain, Luke Hodge, Shaun Burgoyne, Grant Birchall, Brent Guerra and more recently, Taylor Duryea who has fitted in well into the back six.
Why the Hawks backs were so good
It’s easy to say the defence of any side is helped out by the pressure up the field, and no doubt that is also the case at Hawthorn, but the one-on-one ability of players like Lake, Gibson and Stratton should not be underestimated.
The Eagles dominated possession around the ground, stemming from their dominance in the midfield and their was no shortage of ball coming into the Eagles’ forward 50.
West Coast won the inside 50 count 57-49 on the back of their dominance in the midfield, winning the clearance count 43-37.
Kennedy was accurate when he had his chances, kicking five goals from six shots and LeCras kicked his two goals from three shots, while Shuey kicked two from two.
The Eagles forwards were efficient from limited chances because of the quality of Hawthorn’s defence.
Stratton was Darling’s master and Gibson spent time on Kennedy as well as the resting ruckman, as did Lake. They both did their jobs and did them well.
Run restricted
Hawthorn is the number one uncontested possession side in the competition because of their ability to win the ball in the clinches and dish it out to their runners.
In the past two weeks, however, Carlton and now West Coast have restricted Hawthorn’s ability to use the ball in space.
Friday night’s match was played under high pressure situations, with both teams topping 70 tackles (Hawthorn 75, West Coast 72), but it was Hawthorn who was most effected by the way the game was played.
The Hawks had 50 less uncontested possessions than West Coast, which translated to more inside 50s for the Eagles.
By the numbers
Statistically, West Coast had one of their best games for the year.
Going into the match, John Worsfold’s team was ranked 10th for contested possessions, 17th for uncontested possessions, 17th for disposals and 18th for disposal efficiency.
And they were facing a team ranked second for contested possessions, first for uncontested possessions, first for disposals and first for disposal efficiency.
On Friday night though, the Eagles matched it with the best, winning the disposal count 383-334, kicking efficiency 71.8 per cent-68 per cent, uncontested possession 225-175 and outmuscled in the contested ball by one (155-156).
What does it mean?
Statistically, Hawthorn probably played below its best, but most pleasing for Coach Alastair Clarkson was that for the second week running, the Hawks found a way to win.
From 49 inside 50s, Hawthorn had 28 scoring shots – a credit to the delivery from the midfield and the efficiency of the forwards when they got their chance.
The form of Roughead, Gunston and Breust along with star forward Franklin has the Hawks in a good position, given it doesn’t rely on any one forward to kick its goals.
Unlike most sides in the league, the Hawks don’t rely on one player to kick a winning score and even when they’re not at their best against quality sides, they find a way to win.
Special mention
90 minutes before the bounce, Hawks midfielder Jonathan Simpkin was preparing to sit on the bench for three quarters, selected as the substitute for the game.
But, just as the team prepared to run out onto Etihad Stadium, Simpkin had the green vest taken off him, thrust into the heat of battle for the opening bounce as Paul Puopolo was a very late withdrawal.
From the first minute, Simpkin was switched on and ready to put his body on the line, being crunched in a marking contest in the first few minutes.
He finished the game with 15 disposals and seven tackles to be a solid contributor for the Hawks.
What the coaches said
Hawthorn’s Alastair Clarkson: "Our forwards were really, really dangerous all night.
"We did look potent once we could get it in there, but [the Eagles] were so damaging around the stoppages.
"They beat us convincingly at various stages of the game, particularly in the first and third quarters, and they gained the ascendency of the game as a result of that in those two terms.
"When we could square the ledger a little bit, we were right in the contest."
West Coast’s John Worsfold: "The second quarter … that on the scoreboard had a bigger impact because we were scoring as well (as Hawthorn) in the first quarter.
"But (I was) more disappointed with how easily they scored in that first quarter."
