Awesome Hawthorn delivered another chilling statement to their AFL rivals and spoilt Lance Franklin's 700-goal celebrations with a crushing 89-point AFL win over the Sydney Swans at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.
Following up their 72-point towelling of ladder leaders Fremantle last week, the Hawks slammed on the first seven goals and plied on 14 goals to three in the second half on their way to a 23.8 (146) to 7.15 (57) win.
The comprehensive victory lifted the Hawks above Sydney into third and was even more one-sided than their 63-point grand final win over the Swans last year.
Former Hawk Franklin, who started the game on 698 goals, kicked three in as many minutes in the second quarter to briefly give Sydney hope, but the Swans never reduced the deficit below 18 points.
Incredibly, Sydney were blown away despite notching 15 more contested possessions and just one less inside 50.
The Hawks were ruthlessly efficient in attack and their swarming defence pressured Sydney into numerous errors.
It was Hawthorn's seventh straight win since their four-point loss to Sydney back in round eight.
The normally miserly Swans hadn't conceded over 100 points in a game this season, but Hawthorn reached the century mark before three-quarter time.
Jarryd Roughead, back from his cancer scare, kicked five goals, Jack Gunston four and Cyril Rioli three for the Hawks.
Gunston kicked three first quarter goals as Hawthorn surged to a 37-2 quarter advantage at the break.
Franklin's second quarter hat-trick and a smart goal to co-captain Jarrad Mcveigh got the Swans back to within three goals, only for Hawthorn to kick the last two majors of the term to hold a 30-point halftime lead.
The insatiable Hawks kicked the first two of the third term and seven goals to two for the quarter to lead by 55 at the final change.
The visitors piled on the misery in the final quarter, kicking seven goals to one.
Sydney fullback Ted Richards was reported for a first quarter head shot on Sam Mitchell.
The Swans suffered a blow early in the second quarter when recalled midfielder Craig Bird was injured and replaced by Zak Jones.
Hawthorn lost Brad Hill before the game to a corked calf.
Both coaches pinpointed Hawthorn's superior efficiency in the front half as the key factor in the game.
"We were able to defend the Sydney entries really well throughout the course of the night and we were able to make the most of our opportunities," Hawks' coach Alastair Clarkson said.
"The efficiency of our boys when they were in their front half was really good and our defensive structures were quite strong behind the ball."
Sydney coach John Longmire lamented his side's inability to convert some of their early scoring opportunities.
"We couldn't maintain possession or couldn't hit targets or hit the scoreboard going forward and we couldn't stop them scoring going the other way," Longmire said.
Clarkson suggested the AFL look at playing games exclusively at the SCG after Roughead suffered some scratching when his jersey was torn on a bolt in an area behind one of the goals following a push by Swan Dane Rampe in the third quarter.
The ground had to undergo a reconfiguration after a rugby league game at the venue on Friday night.
"Playing rugby league the night before and you've got to replace grass, pull back stands, do all that sort of thing is hardly an ideal preparation for a top level clash between two really good sides, so that will always be a significant challenge at this venue," Clarkson said.
"It's the only venue in the league that has to prepare for two different codes in two days and it makes it really really difficult and I suppose that's why everyone's preference is the SCG rather than this oval when it comes to playing in Sydney.
"If rugby league want to have this ground and we play all our games at the SCG, that might be the best option for our code."
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