Hawthorn has secured itself a spot in the September action with an 124-point win over North Melbourne. The Hawks have won 14 of their last 18 matches to seal their place in finals for the first time since 2018.
Seventh before the final round of the home and away season, the in-form Hawks needed to beat the Kangaroos on Saturday to secure a spot in the top eight. They did it in style, with Dylan Moore kicking four goals and Nick Watson, Connor Macdonald and Mabior Chol kicking three each in the 26.14 (170) to 7.4 (46) romp. Hawthorn's dominance was evident from the first quarter, as they piled on eight goals in the second term to lead by 66 points at half-time. They didn't look back, stacking on another 10 goals in the fourth quarter of the UTAS Stadium demolition.
Hawthorn Dominates All Facets to Book September Spot
The Hawks are officially locked into their first finals berth since 2018 after an absolute onslaught at Launceston. In the wet, the match could have been forgiven for turning into a contested scrap. But Hawthorn proved its ball movement can be effective in all conditions, and their speed was too much for the Kangaroos to handle on the UTAS Stadium's wide expanses.
“It’s a pleasure to watch, on top of all facts of their game leading into September,” triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown told Fox Footy. “They’re so connected, I really like the way they go into their forward line. They’ve had plenty of forward half turnover and been able to score from stoppage. You’d be happy with that balance of stoppage and turnover scores.”
So damaging was Hawthorn's win and thus percentage boost that Sam Mitchell's side climbed all the way into fourth position on the ladder. And while Geelong's beatdown of West Coast guarantees the Hawks won’t stay in the top four, Hawthorn's first final is still likely to be at the MCG. It’s a ground that suits their game style, and they’ll fancy their chances against anyone at their home venue.
Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley praised Mitchell's Hawks for having “a couple of modes” they can go into. “They’re not shy on taking yardage when they’re under pressure,” Buckley told Fox Footy. “They know their forwards have already worked forward of the ball, so they back them to win an even-numbered contest. Then they’ve got the other mode where they change the angle and are in open field and run and carry. They lower the eyes and find the uncontested marks. They’re very strong in the turnover game.”
Enormous Ginnivan, Watson Shine
The wet conditions suited Hawthorn's small forward duo perfectly, and they sent a statement to the rest of the top eight. Their effectiveness wasn’t limited once the ball got to ground, with the pair continually finding space to take marks and cause North Melbourne's defence plenty of headaches.
“Jack Ginnivan has been enormous in all facets of the game. Defensively I’ve been really impressed,” triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown said on Fox Footy at half-time.
Ginnivan was particularly busy early, kicking both his goals within the first quarter and a bit to set the tone for the Hawks.
Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley noted Ginnivan averaged around the third most game time of Hawthorn's small forwards at 81.6 per cent, which he thinks speaks to his work rate and ability to cover the ground. And as flagged by Brown, Buckley believes that added defensive element to the ex-Magpie's game is what's really taken him to another level.
“We’ve seen his smothers and tackle efforts. That’s got to be lauded, it’s put on a pedestal and shown to the rest of the group,” Buckley added. “When you believe as a player you’re rewarded for those one percent elements and defensive parts of the game – and you’ve already got the defensive ability – that’s when you grow as a player.”
Elsewhere, veteran Jack Gunston has found strong form the past month as has youngster Calsher Dear, while Connor Macdonald booted three goals and Dylan Moore four on Saturday. Throw in the fact coach Sam Mitchell has the option of throwing James Sicily or Blake Hardwick forward when needed and they'll be tough to beat in finals. Their pressure was brilliant throughout, even when the result was well and truly official, and their game couldn’t be in better shape to try and launch a premiership tilt from the bottom half of the eight. The win also meant the Hawks won all four games in Launceston this year, the first time they’ve done so since 2016.
Roos Limp Into Off-Season
North Melbourne had made some promising strides in the back half of its season, including wins over West Coast, Richmond and Gold Coast. But the last two weeks would be tough to accept for coach Alastair Clarkson after his side backed up last week's 96-point thrashing by the Bulldogs with Saturday's 124-point loss to Clarkson's former team.
Granted, Hawthorn had far more to play for and are way more advanced in its development, but the size of the loss in poor weather was disappointing. And it shouldn't get lost that these clubs have been in similar stages of development in recent seasons.
So has North Melbourne gone backwards? Or can it just be attributed to the Roos having nothing to play for? Well, in a grim reality, Clarkson's side could yet finish on the bottom of the ladder in what'd be a disappointing result after seemingly making so much progress. The Roos have to rely on Gold Coast defeating Richmond later on Saturday to avoid the wooden spoon. They could end up with the wooden spoon if last-placed Richmond beat Gold Coast on Saturday afternoon, and percentage isn't in their favor.
AS IT HAPPENED...
There were no late changes, with Luke Breust (Hawthorn) and Blake Drury (North Melbourne) named the starting subs. It was a scrappy start to the game as rain came down at UTAS Stadium. Jack Ginnivan found space to mark inside 50 and kick the Hawks’ opening goal of the day. The Roos fought back though, including George Wardlaw kicking his side's opener to make it one goal apiece.
Nick Watson was busy for Hawthorn early with several dangerous touches in the forward half of the ground. Watson kicked Hawthorn's third goal – making it six scores from nine inside 50s – to take ascendancy in the contest. “That’s a real concern for North, the alarm bells will be ringing in their box about their back half play,” Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley told Fox Footy.
Hawthorn was in total control at quarter-time with a 4.4 (28) to 1.1 (7) lead. In vision caught leading into the quarter-time break, Ginnivan was shown mouthing off to some Kangaroos players as tensions lifted between the two sides. “They definitely play with a bit of an edge Hawthorn. I don’t mind fact they put it out there as long as they back it up,” Buckley observed.
Ginnivan kicked the first goal of the second term – his second for the match – to see the Hawks extend their lead. Jy Simpkin kicked his second major for the day to keep the Roos alive at UTAS Stadium. Watson put through his second major for the day to see Hawthorn get out to a 40-plus point lead again. Massimo D’Ambrosio made it three-straight Hawks goals in an avalanche from Sam Mitchell’s side as it extended its lead further ballooned out.
“They’ve just been so damaging ... seven of their goals have come from that attacking mid area. That part of the field they’ve absolutely dominated,” Buckley added. “North Melbourne have been a almost powerless to stop them.”
It became a Hawthorn onslaught in the second term, including Dylan Moore and Chol stacking on two more goals in ugly scenes for North. The Hawks took a 55-point lead, 12.9 (81) to 4.2 (26), into the main break.
In a concern for the Hawks, Conor Nash suffered a corked leg in the third term and came from the ground. It prompted question marks from Fox Footy pundits whether Nash should be subbed out for precautionary reasons ahead of a finals campaign, but the midfielder played on. Nash eventually came from the field some time later and was subbed out for Luke Breust.
It was proper party later in the third term as with consecutive goals to Calsher Dear and Connor Macdonald to balloon Hawthorn’s lead out to 67 points. In another potential injury concern for Hawthorn, James Worpel came from the ground in the third term limping, joining Nick Watson. The Hawks led 16.10 (106) to 6.4 (40) at the last change.
Hawthorn continued to punish the Roos in the final term, including Dylan Moore kicking his third goal, while Nick Watson kicked a highlight goal. “They’re putting a few teams to the sword,” Buckley said. “It’s sniffing blood – they’re not just winning games – they’re controlling games. That’s not easy to do at this level for four quarters against anyone.”
After Breust kicked back-to-back goals, Moore made it five in a row for the Hawks in a proper beatdown. James Sicily and Chol added two more late at UTAS Stadium in a brown and gold domination.
The match was brought forward four hours to played in daylight bizarrely because of uncertainty around the power supply to University of Tasmania Stadium. Power network workers in Tasmania have been taking industrial action and wouldn't have restored electricity in the event of an outage. In drizzly weather, the lights ended up being switched on for the entirety of the match.
Re-live Hawthorn v North Melbourne in our live blog below!
