Can Hawthorn wrestle back some momentum and save their place in the eight in Round 22?
A bitterly disappointing loss to the Adelaide Crows last Friday has put Hawthorn’s season on a knife’s edge, with three games left, including two against top four sides.
Things looked positive early for the Hawks, who put on one of their best first quarter performances for the season. After a tight tussle in the first eight minutes, Jack Gunston got things started for Hawthorn, kicking the first major of the match, opening the flood gates.
Dylan Moore, Mabior Chol, and Nick Watson each got involved in hitting the scoreboard, while the Hawthorn defence kept Adelaide to one goal, conceding it late in the quarter.
The Hawks went into the second quarter with an impressive four goal lead, however, momentum soon shifted drastically. Crows’ Captain, Jordan Dawson, dominated in the middle and on the scoreboard, while Riley Thilthorpe played his role up forward, out marking Tom Barrass and snagging two goals himself.
It was as if the sides had switched with Adelaide kicking 7.6 and snatching the lead, while Hawthorn remained goalless.
The Hawks returned to the field with some desperation following the main break, and while they conceded the first to Izak Rankine, they soon got things rolling via a major from Conor Nash. Hawthorn managed to up the pressure and fought hard for every inside 50. The Hawks kicked six majors through the likes of Jack Ginnivan, Massimo D’Ambrosio, and Mitch Lewis, to pinch the lead back by the third siren.
However, when it came down to the wire it was Adelaide who came up clutch, while the Hawks squandered some important opportunities across the field. The Crows scored 6.2 to Hawthorn’s 2.4 to nab a winning lead of 14.
Thilthrope was Adelaide’s most effective forward, kicking four goals, while, in a stacked line up of tall forwards, it was the veteran Jack Gunston (four) who led the goal scorers for Hawthorn.
To make the loss all the more devastating, embattled midfielder Will Day was sent home in a moonboot. After having a solid impact with 19 disposals, seven clearances, and a goal, it was later revealed that Day’s navicular injury had resurfaced midway through the match, effectively ending his season early yet again.
Tale of the Tape
Following Hawthorn’s defeat on Friday night, Collingwood was dealt their own loss, going down to the Brisbane Lions at the MCG on Saturday.
Despite hitting the scoreboard early, the Magpies soon found themselves dominated by Brisbane. The Lions did well to force the turnover, keeping the Pies locked in their defensive half for much of the first quarter. That remained the norm for the rest of the game with Brisbane maintaining the lead and eventually winning by 27 points.
Following what seemed like an unstoppable run for the Magpies from rounds nine to 17, the premiership favourites’ form has appeared to drop off slightly. Their loss to the Lions is their third in the last five rounds.
Collingwood’s record coming into round 22 is 15 wins, five losses, placing them at second on the table with a percentage of 130.8, making their stake in finals footy safe.
Hawthorn, on the other hand, desperately need to win if they are to keep their hopes for another finals tilt alive. Their loss to Adelaide has seen them drop to seventh on the ladder, and another defeat here could see them out of the eight altogether by round 23.
The Last They Met
It was a game most Hawks’ fans would rather forget. The two sides met back in round 12 this season, where the Magpies belted Hawthorn under Friday night lights.
While the first quarter lived up to the expectations the match could be a finals preview, Hawthorn lowered their colours in the second, yielding a four goal lead by the major break. Things would only get worse once they returned to the field.
In one of their worst performances of the year, Hawthorn laid only 38 (-44) tackles for the match (four of which were inside 50), with seven players failing to lay more than one tackle and another five registering zero. This complete lack of pressure allowed the Collingwood midfielder to thrive, with +28 uncontested possessions.
Furthermore, Collingwood’s defensive structure proved too much for Hawthorn. Despite registering 45 (+1) inside 50s for the match, Hawthorn only had sixteen shots on goal. Kicking at 42.2% saw Hawthorn with a final score of 8.8.56.
This was in complete contrast to Collingwood, who, through their veterans in Brody Mihochek (four) and Jamie Elliot (five), had 27 shots on goal from 44 inside 50s, finishing the night with a 51 point lead (16.11).
Jack Ginnivan’s performance was the silver lining from the outing, recording an equal career-high 31 disposals and three goals against his old side, and was the only Hawk to receive coaches votes from that match.
The Sides
A noticeable difference in sides coming into round 23 is the absence of Jeremy Howe in Collingwood’s defensive line up. With Howe in their back six, the Pies have won 14 out of 16 games this season. Since he was sidelined back in July, they have lost three out the last four.
In round 12, Hawthorn’s tall forwards were kept to just two goals, with Jack Gunston kicking both of them, while Mabior Chol failed to hit the scoreboard. Howe’s experience likely played a role in this, compounded by Hawthorn’s terrible form. Should he return (which looks to be the case), he could prove problematic for Hawthorn’s forward line yet again.
In saying this, Hawthorn’s forward line is now flush with talent, with the return of Mitch Lewis and Calsher Dear, who played alongside fellow talls in Gunston and Chol last week. This stacked line up, notwithstanding the inform Jack Ginnivan and Nick Watson, could prove harder to contain, especially if Howe were to miss another week.
Hawthorn’s weakness remains in the centre, where Collingwood boast the talents of veterans in Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom, and the Daicos brothers. How Sam Mitchell and the selectors approach this is anyone’s guess, especially with Will Day’s season over.
The question stands who comes in for Day. Whether we see Cam Mackenzie, who has been in superb form (averaging 27+ disposals in the past month) for Box Hill, or Sam Butler, who recently laid 11 tackles against the Pies VFL side, remains to be seen.
Thursday 7 August 2025
7:30 PM (AEST)
MCG
