HAWTHORN 4.5 Â 6.7 Â 8.14 Â 11.16 (82)
MELBOURNE 2.0 Â 7.2 Â 10.2 Â 10.4 (64)
Goals: Hawthorn: J Gunston 3 L Breust 2 T O'Brien 2 B Hill C Rioli K Stewart P Puopolo. Melbourne: D Kent 2 J Watts 2 A vandenBerg C Dawes C Petracca D Tyson J Hogan N Jones.
Best – Hawthorn: Mitchell, Gibson, Gunston, Birchall, Smith, Lewis. Melbourne: Tyson, Vince, Jones, Gawn, Watts, Wagner.
Umpires: Shaun Ryan, Troy Pannell, Jordan Bannister.
Official Crowd: 41,833 at MCG.
It's been just over 10 years since Melbourne beat Hawthorn, so long ago that, including a couple of fill-ins, the Demons have gone through seven coaches since then.
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Hawks scrape past Demons
Hawthorn defeated a gallant Melbourne by 18 points on Saturday afternoon.
Most of those previous dozen losses have been crushing defeats, the last six by 45 points or more. In that context, the 13th successive defeat stands up pretty well, an 18-point loss at the MCG in a result still in doubt with 10 minutes to go.
For Hawthorn, it's the result that counted, the Hawks again getting the job done without necessarily sparkling in what is becoming a recurring theme.
Still, neither was the comparatively narrow margin anything to be embarrassed about. For given the misty, foggy, drizzly conditions, this was a pretty high-standard contest. And a lot closer than it looked like it was going to be after a quarter or so.
Melbourne had appeared to be headed for such comprehensive defeat early in the second quarter that Jesse Hogan's first goal of the day raised barely a murmur.
The Demons, perhaps buoyed by the return of former skipper Jack Trengove after two full years out of the fray, had certainly begun the game full of spirit. It was they who got the jump, dominated the early play, and booted the first two goals.
But not for the first time, when the Hawthorn machine cranked into gear, the team on the other end seemed powerless to cope.
Jack Gunston got the ball rolling with a juggling mark and conversion, then a beautiful bit of artistry three minutes later when he ducked back between two leaden-footed Demon defenders Tom McDonald and Jayden Hunt, wheeled on to his right foot and put the Hawks in front.
But Hawthorn also started to do the basics more effectively than their opponent. Luke Breust threw his boot at a loose ball 15 metres from goal and steered it through. Young key forward Tim O'Brien marked yet another centre clearance from Sam Mitchell and completed the task and it was four goals in a row.
When, just 20 seconds into the second term, Cyril Rioli perfectly read the crumbs off a contest and snapped another, the gap was out to 23 points and a smashing starting to seem inevitable.
Instead, it was actually Melbourne with their noses in front at half-time, the revival engineered by the midfield performances of Dom Tyson and Bernie Vince, but also the seeming realisation that this was not a day for finesse.
The Demons, to put it bluntly, stopped buggerising around with the ball, and the results duly came.
Hogan's goal brought the deficit back to 17 points. A few minutes later, Aaron Vandenberg got front position, was rewarded with the mark, and did that justice with another goal.
Tyson himself, prolific all over the park, got the next himself, Melbourne now with the ball locked in their forward line. And when Dean Kent got his boot to another goal-mouth spill bobbling about the place, the Demons were back in front.
Gunston's third was badly needed by the Hawks when it came, the hard-working forward forcing Tyson's one blemish for the term, nailing him in possession near his defensive goal.
But for symbolism's sake as much as for the scoreboard, it was no less significant when Jack Watts raced into an open goal with only seconds remaining on the clock and put his team back in front.
Come the third quarter, it was Hawthorn who couldn't get enough bang for their buck. The Hawks more than doubled Melbourne for inside 50 entries, yet finished term with just 2.7, while the Demons went in just eight times for three goals straight.
Kent and Watts, playing the sort of game which is becoming the norm for him, bobbed up for two more for Melbourne, Hogan's contesting and physical presence a common denominator in both.
Neither did the Hawks help themselves at times. Isaac Smith went inboard inside his defensive 50 and straight to Christian Petracca, who promptly dished off a handball to Nathan Jones and another Melbourne goal.
But, somehow, you just knew Hawthorn would get it right when it counted. And they did.
The game tightened up considerably in the final term, but it was debutant Kade Stewart who unlocked the scores after a superb effort from Breust simply to keep the ball alive and pop a handball over the top.
Indeed, the Hawks' squadron of small forwards became a potent weapon in the most important moments of the game, Paul Puopolo giving the Hawks and 13-point lead and breathing space after pouncing on the crumbs created by a Rioli contest.
And it was done and dusted when Tim O'Brien dobbed one from deep in the forward-pocket with only a couple of minutes left on the clock.
Game, set and yet another match to the Hawks. They just need the wins, the manner of them of less concern. Melbourne need the wins, too, of course, but when you've copped some of the shellackings the Demons have known against the same opponent the past decade, this was at least a vast improvement.
VOTES:
Dom Tyson (Melb) ……..8
Sam Mitchell (Haw)……..7
Bernie Vince (Melb)……..7
Nathan Jones (Melb)……..7
Josh Gibson (Haw)………..7