Hawthorn has knocked off a second finals contender in as many weeks with an impressive 67-64 victory over the Western Bulldogs in Launceston.
On the back of their win over Collingwood last Saturday, the Hawks started poorly, finding themselves 20 points down at quarter time while losing Chad Wingard to what looks like an Achilles injury.
Sam Mitchell’s side began to break even in the second term but it was after half-time where they really showed their class.
Even though they were kicking against a strong wind in that quarter, the Hawks held the Dogs to kist three behinds as they kicked 2.1 at the other end.
Hawthorn were able to take the air out of the game in that period with sharp kicking and attack at the contest, setting themselves up for a last quarter where they had both the wind and momentum.
While the Dogs had their chances in the fourth term and kicked the last three goals of the game, the Hawks were able to hold on and were three points ahead when the final siren rang out.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Milestone Hawks have days out
James Worpel and Jai Newcombe were huge for Hawthorn in their 100th and 50th games respectively.
The duo helped their side to a 34-31 clearance win and 124-112 contested possession victory while providing the drive needed to nullify the Dogs’ star-studded unit.
Newcombe finished with a whopping 40 disposals, 10 score involvements and marks while Worpel was quality with 24 touches, five inside 50s and seven clearances.
The duo also both kicked an important goal each.
Alongside Will Day (24 disposals, one goal), Hawthorn’s young midfield group is going from strength to strength.
It’s scary to imagine what they could be in five years’ time.
Maginness the cooler strikes again
After claiming the scalp of Nick Daicos last week, Finn Maginness was again hugely important for Hawthorn.
The 22-year-old initially went to Tom Liberatore with the star midfielder held to just six disposals (three effective) before he went off with a nasty concussion.
Maginness was then shifted onto the likes of Bailey Dale, Ed Richards and Caleb Daniel, with each of those players having zero impact while being tagged.
His ability to play on a variety of players is so valuable for Sam Mitchell, with the coach able to send his stopper to whichever player starts having an impact.
With Melbourne and Fremantle on Hawthorn’s run home, the likes of Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver, Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw should be worried.
How does this impact the finals race?
The Bulldogs would have been a game clear inside the eight if they won, but now they’re simply a member of the chasing pack stuck on 11 wins.
Sydney are also on 11 wins but have a draw up their sleeve, while eight-placed St Kilda and ninth-placed GWS will get to 12 if they win their respective clashes on Sunday.
There’s every chance the Dogs are out of the eight at the end of the round, and they’ll likely have to win both of their remaining home and away games to play finals.
They’ll get one next week against West Coast, but their Round 24 clash against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium could be for all of the chocolates.
Obviously, Hawthorn won’t play finals but on current form, they could easily throw another spanner in the works in the final fortnight.