Australian Football

Match Report

Hawthorn has registered a routine win over Gold Coast, leading at every change and winning all four quarters against the Suns at York Park on Saturday. On a cold and wet Launceston day, this match was played accordingly, rarely generating any 'heat' as the Hawks held Gold Coast at bay throughout the afternoon. The victory maintained Hawthorn's sequence of results in 2015, with the Hawks having a record that reads WLWLWLWLW. 

In blustery conditions the game got off to a slow start, with Sun Michael Rischitelli registering the only score of the first six minutes, a behind. Ruckman David Hale got the Hawks on the board with a goal at the seven-minute mark, but majors to Luke Russell and Brandon Matera gave Gold Coast as the term entered time on. The Suns were matching it with Hawthorn at that point, but two goals to Luke Breust to close out the quarter saw the Hawks take a five-point lead into the first change of ends.

Gold Coast started the second quarter very well, with two goals to Tom Lynch in the first five minutes giving the Suns an eight-point lead, but Hawthorn turned the screws after that, to the point that the Suns did not register so much as a behind from that moment until the 27-minute mark of the third quarter. Matt Suckling got the ball rolling for the Hawks, and further majors to David Hale and Jack Gunston - along with a string of behinds - to lead by 14 points at the long break. 

When the second half, the Hawks put their foot down and settled the affair in their favour. They scored six straight goals in the first 20 minutes, shared by Liam Shiels, skipper Luke Hodge, Gunston, Cyril Rioli, Shaun Burgoyne and Isaac Smith to extend Hawthorn's lead to beyond 50 points. The Suns managed to stem the flow in time on of the third quarter, restricting the Hawks to just two further behinds while adding a goal through Charlie Dixon.

The Hawks again dominated the first half of the final term, with David Hale and Breust adding goals in the first 15 minutes, while the Suns again went scoreless. The match fizzled out from a scoring perspective after that, with Gold Coast's Keegan Brooksby - making his AFL debut at 25 years of age - scoring the only other major of that match. When the final siren sounded, the Hawks had won 14.9.93 to 6.4.40 to move up to sixth on the ladder, just one game behind fourth-placed Collingwood.

For Hawthorn, Liam Shiels (14 tackles, 28 possessions), Sam Mitchell (36 touches and five tackles) and Hodge (30 disposals, eight tackles) all had outstanding games while Gold Coast's best included Mitch Callahan (30 touches and six marks), Tom Lynch (13 possessions, two goals) and Rischitelli (23 disposals, seven tackles).

The Hawks will meet St Kilda at Docklands next Sunday before having a bye in round 11, while Gold Coast will have successive home games, hosting Sydney and then Fremantle at Carrara with a break to follow in round 12.

GOALS 
Hawthorn: Breust, Hale 3; Gunston 2; Suckling, Burgoyne, Hodge, Smith, Shiels, Rioli
Gold Coast: Lynch 2; Russell, Matera, Dixon, Brooksby 

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Hawthorn: Shiels, Mitchell, Hodge, Hill, Duryea 
Gold Coast: Lynch, Hallahan, May, Saad, Rischitelli 

BEST - THE SUNDAY AGE
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Hodge, Lake, Hill, Shiels, Burgoyne, Gibson, Breust
Gold Coast: Hallahan, Lynch, Rischitelli, May, Kolodjashnij, Bennell, Saad

INJURIES 
Hawthorn: Jordan Lewis (bruised shoulder) replaced in selected side by Matthew Suckling, Puopolo (TBC) 
Gold Coast: Jack Martin (hamstring)

SUBSTITUTES
Hawthorn: Cyril Rioli replaced by Daniel Howe in the final quarter
Gold Coast: Jack Martin replaced by Brandon Matera in the first quarter

UMPIRES: Stevic, Brown, Hay 

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network

COMMENTATORS: Basil Zempilas, Hamish McLachlan, Tim Watson, Andrew Welsh