After suffering a crushing 60-point loss in last year’s most significant game, there was no doubt Sydney would be gunning for redemption in 2025. Hawthorn, on the other hand, needed to come out firing from the start against last season’s Grand Finalists.
After all, Sam Mitchell’s men have had their colours lowered by Sydney in recent years, losing five of their past six clashes, including their biggest defeat of last season, a brutal 76-point loss in round 7.
But this time, the Hawks were ready.
Hawthorn led at every break, holding off a comeback in the third quarter from the home side, to win by 20 points, defeating Sydney 14.12 (96) to 11.10 (76) in the season opener at the SCG.
Mitchell and the coaching committee decided against playing long-time stalwarts and triple premiership heroes, Luke Breust and Jack Gunston. The decision raised questions among some surprised fans but on Friday night, it paid off.
With new recruits Tom Barrass and Josh Battle joining in the off-season to bolster the club’s defensive ranks, the Hawks’ backline looked stronger than ever. Reliable and much-loved defender Sam Frost started as the substitute, eventually replacing the injured James Worpel, while Tom Hanily made his AFL debut as Sydney’s sub.
With much hype surrounding the inclusions of Barrass and Battle in the side, many wondered how they would fit into the Hawks’ defensive structure. All eyes were glued to see how quickly they would adapt to the new game style.
And the answer came quickly as they slotted in perfectly.
Barrass showed poise in his key defensive roles, while Battle provided solid support limiting Tom Papley’s impact to only one goal, allowing the rest of the team to operate with confidence.
Star midfielder Will Day showed why he is considered by many in the inner sanctum as a future club captain with his superb performance.
In a dominant display after returning from his off-season collarbone surgery, Day’s impact was immediate. He finished with 26 disposals, four marks, three goals, laid six tackles and had nine clearances in a clear best-on-ground performance.
During the off-season, Sydney had their own coaching handover with John Longmire handing over the reins to long-time assistant Dean Cox. Fans were eager to see what tactical changes the new coach would implement after the side made it to the Grand Final last year.
Brodie Grundy and Lloyd Meek went head-to-head in the ruck battle with Meek totally nullifying Grundy’s impact, limiting him to just one clearance.
After Hawthorn scored the first two behinds, Chad Warner kicked the first goal of the season to give the Swans a lead.
Without key forwards Calsher Dear, Mitchell Lewis, Jack Gunston and Luke Breust, there were concerns whether the Hawks’ forward line could be potent enough to score a winning result.
Dylan Moore, Lloyd Meek, and Day were the multiple goal scorers amongst the 10 players who hit the scoreboard on the night, demonstrating the Hawks’ depth and non-reliance on one player to kick a bag. Moore kicked the Hawks’ first. Lloyd Meek then stepped up to get the Hawks’ second and give the visitors a nice lead.
Speculation was rife before the game whether skipper James Sicily might play up forward, given the arrivals of Barrass and Battle, but he started down back with them. At one stage, after an undisciplined 50m penalty handed Sydney a goal, Sicily was immediately pulled from the field, signalling the coach was not impressed.
It was a brief lapse though and the 30-year-old quickly turned things around and played like the Sicily we’ve grown to love.
But ultimately, the flexibility that the inclusions of Barrass and Battle have provided, along with Sicily’s pure talent and determination paved the way to a stirring victory.
With his side under the pump entering the final term, the coach’s decision to move Sicily forward was a masterstroke.
Captain dependable had a direct hand in two of Hawthorn’s three final quarter goals, as a contested mark in the goal square resulted in an unconvincing but critical Finn Maginness goal early in the quarter, which was then followed by a snapping set-shot finish at the 21-minute-mark; a goal that proved to be the sealer.
Though Sicily (20 disposals, one goal, five contested marks), Day and Meek (two goals, 30 hitouts) headlined the standouts for Hawthorn, they were well supported throughout the match by a number of other players.
Karl Amon, who did a heap of work over the preseason on his running, was instrumental over the course of the game, as his 27 disposals, six inside-50s and one silky snapping goal in the second quarter proved to be instrumental in the win. When the former Port Adelaide midfielder put the jets on, ran through the centre square, navigated his way through the traffic, stepped around a couple of Swans opponents, sold the candy, handballed to Newcombe as he was about to get gang-tackled then got it back and finished superbly with the snap straight through the goal posts to extend Hawthorn’s lead at a critical time in the game, it was a sight to behold for fans of the brown and gold.
He was particularly damaging in the final term, as his ten disposals (all of which being kicks) were pivotal in ensuring Sydney’s attacking forays were shunned.
Other notable performers included Jai Newcombe, (19 possessions, one goal, seven tackles and nine clearances), Jack Scrimshaw (18 possessions, 8 marks) Finn Maginness (13 disposals, two marks, two tackles and a goal) and forward maestro Dylan Moore (two goals, 18 disposals, six score-involvements).
Despite a hard-fought win against an established contender being an ideal start to Hawthorn’s 2025 season, the clash didn’t come without a cost.
James Worpel, who had a predictably solid first half with 11 disposals and three tackles, suffered an ankle syndesmosis injury scare just before the main break, with the rumour he would take no further part in proceedings quickly being confirmed as he appeared from the rooms wearing a moon boot. Scans will show the full extent of the injury in the coming days, however an average recovery time of 6-8 weeks for these types of setbacks means Worpel isn’t likely to be seen till after Gather Round at the earliest.
Though any kind of injury to a prime midfield-mover is a blow, silver linings already began to appear in the second half for the Hawks, as the ability for the other midfielders to step up in his absence encouraged the coach.
In the post-match press conference, Mitchell praised the efforts of his young team for standing up, proclaiming that “Worps has probably been our best performer over the pre-season and after we lost him, Cam Mackenzie goes into the midfield and the midfield mix stayed strong, so I was really happy. I thought the performance of the collective midfield was really good.”
Mackenzie’s ability to step up, which was noticeable in a final quarter where he racked up seven key possessions, was profound, as was the ability for Conor Nash (20 disposals, one goal, five tackles), Newcombe, Day and even Dylan Moore, to compensate for the ‘Worpedo’s’ absence.
The win was a testament to Hawthorn’s team effort, and flexibility, with contributions from all over the ground, an encouraging sign for the season ahead.
It was a solid performance by the young Hawks in enemy territory at the SCG, despite the slippery conditions and they’ll head into next week’s clash full of confidence when the rivalry with Essendon resumes at the MCG. The first bounce is next Friday, March 14 at 7.40pm AEDT.
