If history is a guide, Hawthorn are likely to have a two-point win this week.
The Hawks have triumphed by two-point margins three times in Round 7 in years ending in zero, doing so in 1960 against Geelong, in 1980 versus Carlton and in 1990 against Collingwood.
Last Friday night was the first time for 86 years that a Hawthorn team included a player not born in the 20th century, with Will Day and Josh Morris becoming the first players born in the 21st century to represent the club.
With both Day and Morris born in 2001, and the Hawks yet to give a debut to any of the cohort of players born in the year 2000, there will not need to be any debate about whether the new century started on 1 January 2000 or 1 January 2001,
The last time a player born in the 19th century represented Hawthorn was at Glenferrie in Round 3 1934 when Bill Twomey (born 14 May 1899) played his final game, at the age of 35 years and five days, against his former club, Collingwood. Hawthorn lost to the Magpies then too, going down by 67 points, despite Jack Green kicking six goals.
Destination known: The Hawks are heading to Perth
Another parallel with a previous game against Collingwood was last Friday night’s score of 3.9.27, a score the Hawks also kicked at Victoria Park in Round 21 1975. The winning score was similar in both games with the Magpies kicking 7.15.57 in 1975 and 8.11.59 last week.
In its history, Hawthorn has recorded 10 scores lower than 27, the most recent a tally of 3.8.26 against Geelong at Kardinia Park in Round 9 1964. It is worth noting that Hawthorn followed that low score with four consecutive wins, so hopefully history will repeat this season.
Playing Melbourne in Sydney this week means that Hawthorn will have played every Victorian team outside Victoria. This Sunday’s game will be the first between the two clubs at a venue other than the MCG since their final Waverley meeting in Round 19 1999. In that game, Hawthorn thrashed Melbourne by 68 points – 18.14.122 to 8.6.54. Shane Crawford got three Brownlow votes for his 30 disposals and three goals, Aaron Lord two votes for his six goals and Daniel Harford one vote for his 25-disposal game.
This week will be the fifth time in nine seasons that the Hawks and Demons have clashed in Round 7, having previously done so in 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2019. Hawthorn won the first three but lost narrowly last season.
In 2017, Hawthorn went in as big underdogs having won just one of the opening six games of the season but proceeded to score an upset three-point victory – 14.10.94 to 14.7.91. The Hawks set up the win by skipping away to a 27-point quarter time lead, which was largely maintained until Melbourne kicked four quick goals late in the third quarter. A dogged final term got the Hawks to a well-deserved victory. Skipper Jarryd Roughead booted four goals and gun recruit Tom Mitchell had 31 disposals.
Hawthorn has won 15 of its last 18 games against Melbourne, including 13 consecutive wins from 2007 to 2016. Hawthorn’s best sequence of wins against any opponent is the 22 consecutive victories it racked up against Melbourne from 1973 to 1984. The two clubs have played each other 164 times, with the Hawks winning 87 and the Demons 77.
Hawthorn won eight consecutive Round 7 games from 1971 to 1978 and again from 2011 to 2018. The overall Hawthorn in Round 7 record is 47 wins, 47 losses and one draw.
20 years ago, in Round 7 2000, Hawthorn recorded an excellent 31-point win against the higher-placed Western Bulldogs at the MCG – 19.9.123 to 14.8.92. Nathan Thompson kicked six goals and Ben Dixon booted four.
30 years ago, in Round 7 1990, the Hawks snuck home by two points against Collingwood at Waverley – 13.16.94 to 13.14.92. Jason Dunstall kicked six goals, while Paul Dear, Robert Dipierdomenico and Dean Anderson were all excellent.
40 years ago, in Round 7 1980, Hawthorn led Carlton by two points at three quarter time – 13.15 to 13.13 – and while that was also the final margin in the Hawks favour, it fails to capture the drama of an amazing final term. Hawthorn kicked a conventional 3.2, while Carlton scored an extraordinary 1.14. To make it more amazing the one goal the Blues kicked came after the final siren, making the final score 16.17.113 to 14.27.111.
The clash of the Princes Park co-tenants before a crowd of 28,788 was highlighted for Hawks’ fans by the brilliance of Leigh Mathews. The following week’s Football Record featured him in its ‘Play of the Day’, recording how he ‘baulked, dodged and threaded his way around Carlton players to score a superb goal’. Matthews was clearly BOG, with other rated in the best including Kelvin Moore, Michael Moncrieff, Peter Murnane, Alan Goad and Robert Dipierdomenico.
Another feature of the day was the Hawthorn banner, which featured the topical words ‘Who Dares Wins’ – the motto of the British SAS, who earlier in the week had ended the Iranian embassy siege in London. A photo of the banner was used on the cover of the club’s 1980 annual report.
60 years ago, in Round 7 1960, Hawthorn trailed Geelong by 34 points at half-time at Glenferrie but fought back magnificently in the second half to win 14.15.99 to 14.13.97. Both Kevin Connell and John Dineen kicked three goals.
The Round 7 individual Hawthorn goal-kicking tally is the highest for any round. In Round 7 1992, Jason Dunstall kicked 17 goals against Richmond, falling just one short of Fred Fanning’s VFL-AFL record of 18, but bettering the previous Hawthorn record of 16 set by Peter Hudson in 1969. That bag of 16 at Glenferrie in 1969 remains the club record against Melbourne.
