AFL LIVE: Rampaging Hawks bury brave Dees, as Blues welcome injury news
Last year, Hawthorn soared on the wings of their next-gen Hawks.
On Saturday, it was an elder statesman who was part of their last golden generation who came to their rescue.
Luke Breust is congratulated for a first-quarter goal.Credit: Getty Images
When the Hawks needed a hero in the last quarter, Jack Gunston answered the call, booting three goals to turn a game that had been in the balance for much of the afternoon into a deceptively comfortable 35-point victory.
Gunston and Mabior Chol, another key forward who struggled, kicked five of the Hawks’ six goals in the last quarter to cement their club in the top four.
But it was a scratchy performance that, apart from the four points it yielded, would not have overly pleased coach Sam Mitchell.
The Hawks were well beaten at clearance but, like good teams do, found another gear, which teams on the lower reaches of the ladder like Melbourne don’t have.
James Worpel was consistent through four quarters and Changkuoth Jiath was a dependable cog in a defence that absorbed plenty of traffic in the first three terms.
There would have been plenty of green on the screens in Melbourne’s coaches box but the issues which crippled their premiership bids in 2022-23 haunted them – their inefficiency inside 50 and inaccuracy in front of goal.
Through the middle two quarters, the Dees dominated contest and clearance.
Kysaiah Pickett was a constant threat, Christian Petracca was solid, and Max Gawn won his duel with Lloyd Meek but the Dees could not make it count on the scoreboard.
At a time when the Dees kept missing, Pickett was denied a certain goal in the second term when the four umpires missed a trip that 50,351 people in the stands saw.
Clayton Oliver was shown plenty of love by Dees fans, who gave him a warm, though brief, applause 13 minutes into the game, but he struggled to make an impact
Starting each quarter on the ball, Oliver managed just three clearances and 14 disposals in his comeback game after missing last week on a wellbeing break.
FT: Hawks 13.13 (91) defeat Demons 7.14 (56)
