Australian Football

Match Report

Hawthorn defeated the Gold Goast Suns at York Park on Sunday, to record its 18th consecutive win at the venue, but the victory was nowhere near as comfortable was most pundits had predicted, with the plucky Suns pushing the Hawks for three-and-a-half quarters before eventually succumbing by 26 points. The win took Hawthorn to top place on the ladder, a position it had remarkably not held since round 20, 2014 despite being the reigning premier since 2013. 

After Jack Gunston gave Hawthorn the perfect start by gathering a loose ball and goaling just 16 seconds into the match, the Suns took control, with Peter Wright and Brandon Matera kicking majors to put them ahead by eight points midway through the term, a margin that could have higher had Jarrad Grant, Nick Malceski and Gary Ablett not all missed shots. Jordan Lewis narrowed the margin to a solitary point with a running goal, but majors to Ablett and Tom Lynch had Gold Coast ahead by 15 points at the first break. 

When Lynch added another goal in the second minute of the second quarter, the Suns' lead was out to 21 points and thoughts of an upset began to surface. The Hawks hit back over the next 14 minutes, though, and goals to Billy Hartung, James Sicily and Hartung again had them back within four points. A free kick to Sam Day saw him kick truly and extend the margin back to 11 but Hawthorn regained the ascendancy in general play after that, adding three behinds and then a goal to Sicily to be within a point at the half. 

Gold Coast had a couple of chances to extend its lead early in the third quarter, but shots from Day and Lynch both went wide. Hawthorn then took its turn to miss, with Hartung and Sicily also kicking inaccurately but Jonathan Ceglar and Luke Breust then both found the mark to put the Hawks ahead by 11 points at the 15-minute mark. Ryan Davis had a chance soon after to cut the margin back to under a goal but his kick hit the post. That was the Suns' last score of the term. Hawthorn attacked heavily after that but its reward was only four behinds in that period and the margin at the last change was 10 points in the Hawks' favour.

The all-important first goal of the final quarter went the way of the Suns, with a mark and third goal to Tom Lynch bring them to within eight points of Hawthorn. The two sides traded behinds for the next few minutes, before a running goal from Bradley Hill extended Hawthorn's lead to 15 points. Again the Suns came, though, and a snap from Jarrod Harbrow cut the margin back to just nine points at the 10-minute mark. Sicily responded with his third, though, and Hawthorn took control thereafter. Shaun Burgoyne and Taylor Duryea added majors and Hawthorn drew away to win by what was eventually a comfortable 26-point margin.

Sam Mitchell (35 possessions, six marks) was his ever-reliable self for the Hawks, while Gary Ablett showed that he is definitely back to his best with 40 touches and three tackles. 

The Hawks will have a bye in round 15 before travelling to Adelaide to take on Port on Thursday week, while Gold Coast will host St Kilda at Carrara next Saturday, hoping to break a run of 11 consecutive losses. 

GOALS
Hawthorn: Sicily 3; Hartung 2; Gunston, Lewis, Ceglar, Breust, Hill, Burgoyne, Duryea
Gold Coast: Lynch 3; Wright, Matera, Ablett, Day, Harbrow

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Birchall, Gibson. Stratton, Lewis, Hodge
Gold Coast: Ablett, Lynch, Harbrow, Nicholls, Sexton

BEST - HERALD SUN
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Birchall, Hodge, Lewis, Gibson, Sicily, Hartung
Gold Coast: Ablett, Lynch, Harbrow, Nicholls, Wright, Sexton, May

INJURIES
Hawthorn: Nil
Gold Coast: Nil

UMPIRES: Bannister, Hay, Meredith, Pannell

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Dwayne Russell, Gerard Healy, Alastair Lynch, Ben Dixon