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Hawks crush Dockers in Clarkson milestone

Fremantle midfielder Michael Walters could miss the rest of the season after injuring his left knee in Saturday's big loss to Hawthorn.

Jarryd Roughead and Shaun Burgoyne
Jarryd Roughead and Shaun Burgoyne celebrate a goal during Hawthorn's big win over Fremantle. (AAP)

Hawthorn have overcome some minor infighting to post a crushing 52-point win over Fremantle in their AFL clash at Domain Stadium.

The Hawks made a hot start on Saturday night and booted six goals to two in the final quarter to cruise to the 15.10 (100) to 7.6 (48) win in front of a crowd of 30,818.

To rub salt into the wound for Fremantle, star midfielder Michael Walters could miss the rest of the season after injuring the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee early in the final term.

The most intriguing moment of the match came on the stroke of halftime when Hawthorn teammates James Sicily and Taylor Duryea engaged in an angry exchange.

Sicily was fuming after the umpires didn't pay him a kicking-in-danger free after a Fremantle player soccered the ball into his head.

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Duryea went over to Sicily to tell him to get his focus back on the game.

But Sicily was in no mood for the advice, and gave Duryea a mouthful as he shoved him away.

Sicily had to be calmed down by teammates once the halftime siren sounded, with captain Jarryd Roughead putting his arm around the 22-year-old as they walked to the change rooms.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson, who celebrated his 300th game in charge with a win, said he had no issues with the altercation.

"He (Sicily) was a little bit away with the fairies for a time or two. I think Doc Duryea was just trying to settle him down a bit," Clarkson said.

"I love the fact one of our players came in to try to help him settle down and get composed.

"I think it's really good leadership from Duryea. And I love the passion of Sicily. So yeah, that's all fine."

Walters will undergo scans to determine the extent of his injury.

"It's certainly not career threatening," Dockers coach Ross Lyon said.

"He's had one before on the other side. They're not ideal longer term as you get older.

"But he'll tend to bounce and get back."

Hawthorn debutant Connor Glass tallied 15 disposals in a promising performance.

Jack Gunston (35 disposals, one goal) starred in defence for Hawthorn, while Tom Mitchell (37 possessions) continued his prolific season.

Fremantle recruit Brad Hill, who moved from Hawthorn at the end of last season, was in tears after the match as he shook hands with his former teammates.

The Hawks made a dream start, registering scores from their first six inside-50s to race out to a 26-0 lead.

Lyon said his side made too many simple errors to ever be a genuine chance of winning.


3 min read

Published

Source: AAP



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