Hawks hold off Crows
Huge first half helps ride out storm
HAWTHORN is back on the winner’s list for the first time since late May, after surviving a second-half fightback from Adelaide to run out a 32-point winner at Marvel Stadium.
The Hawks looked to be on their way to a comfortable victory at halftime, booting nine goals – five of those coming off the boot of Mitch Lewis – to three in the first half for a 38point lead at the major break.
Adelaide had other plans, though, raising the tempo around the ground to put Sam Mitchell’s side under enormous pressure as the margin was cut to as little as 20 points early in the final term.
Taylor Walker missed a shot that gave the ball back to Hawthorn, which ended its second-half dry through a Jaeger O’Meara steadier.
The goals flowed for the Hawks after that as they scored win no.5 of the season.
Despite the contest being ostensibly a dead rubber, with both teams’ finals hopes all but extinguished, there were still moments of promise from both teams - particularly for Hawks fans from the boot of Lewis.
Seven days after being held goalless for the first time in 25 games, Lewis laid out the blueprint on how to respond perfectly from a tough day at the office with a sensational showing from the onset.
Teammate Blake Hardwick also had a career-best day, registering 32 disposals from defence, to go with eight marks and seven intercepts. And defensive partner in crime James Sicily (23 disposals, 13 marks) continued his All-Australian-calibre season.
For the Crows, Rory Laird’s and Ben Keays’ sensational seasons rolled on. The pair registered 42 and 30 disposals, respectively, while the returning Matt Crouch had 28.
BIG BOY RETURNS
HAWKS captain Ben McEvoy returned for only his second game this season, after suffering a serious neck injury.
McEvoy had been out of action for 13 straight games after fracturing his neck in training.
The 32-year-old ruckman had seven disposals and 19 hitouts to cap off his return.
BERRY BREAKOUT
ADELAIDE fans have a lot of reasons to get excited about Sam Berry, who put in another impressive showing.
The second-year midfielder has won plenty of admirers since arriving at West Lakes for his tenacity around the contest. He has slowly become a handy option at the coalface to complement the already outstanding work from Ben Keays and Rory Laird.
When the Crows needed a response after halftime, it was Berry who got to work in the middle and helped push the tempo. He ended with 18 disposals and seven tackles.
BRING BACK THE TORP
IT was the old-fashioned hack kick out of defence to nowhere but it worked a treat late in the piece when the Hawks were under the pump and the game was in the balance.
With Adelaide pushing into the Hawks’ attacking half, youngster Jai Newcombe got the ball and launched a massive torpedo, which sent the ball deep into attack and found Jacob Koschitzke one-on-one well inside the forward 50.
The ball eventually found its way to Luke Breust, who was able to make the most of it and slam home the sealer.