The Hawks' blistering start against the competition's best defensive unit might have surprised some, but Hawthorn has made a habit of jumping Freo early in recent seasons. Heading into Friday night's game, the Hawks had held the Dockers goalless in the first quarter in their previous four games. They looked on track to do that again when they kicked six unanswered goals in the game's opening 17 minutes. Freo did not score until David Mundy hit the past at the 21-minute mark, but Matthew Pavlich stopped the Hawks' streak at four when he marked and converted from close range two minutes later. Then again, Pavlich appeared lucky to be paid the juggling mark, as teammate Jack Hannath appeared to touch the ball too. 

Hawthorn's ball use was scarily good all night, but they set the tone in the first term when the Dockers could barely get their hands on the footy. The quarter stats for contested (51-35) and uncontested possessions (60-37) underlined the way the Hawks did as they pleased, but their dominance was best illustrated by the passage of play that led to their sixth goal. It started on the wing when Paul Puopolo cleverly tapped the ball to Cyril Rioli. Rioli took off, had two bounces and then chipped a precise pass to Breust, who was all alone 20m out from goal. Not wanting to waste a second, Breust played on and made Michael Johnson look like a witch's hat as he baulked him and ran into an open goal.

Will Langford's father Chris made his legend at Hawthorn by blanketing the game's best spearheads in the 1980s and early '90s. Six centimetres shorter than his father, Langford, 21, is attempting to make his name as a midfielder. Playing just his fourth AFL game on Friday night, Langford was given the daunting job of manning Dockers midfield bull David Mundy. Mundy was Freo's best player in last year's Grand Final, but Langford cut him almost completely out of the rematch for the first three quarters, limiting him to just 11 possessions in the first three quarters, most under extreme pressure. Mundy had another nine touches in the final term as the Dockers regained some pride with a six-goal quarter, but by then the game was well and truly over. 

It's a safe bet some footy fans changed their tip when they learned Hawthorn ruckman Ben McEvoy was a late withdrawal. It meant the Hawks had to go up against the competition's premier ruckman Aaron Sandilands with milestone man David Hale, who plays mostly up forward these days, and Jonathon Ceglar in just his third AFL game. The Hawks' dominance all over the ground meant no one match-up was going to swing the game. But while Hale, in his 200th game, and Ceglar predictably lost the hitout count to Sandilands and his sidekick Jack Hannath, they ensured Freo's No. 31 did not put his usual big footprint on the game.

Friday night's game was unrecognisable from the low-scoring slugfest the two teams dished up in last year's Grand Final, and the players that took the field were almost as unrecognisable. Seven members of the Hawks' flag team were missing: Luke Hodge (groin), Brian Lake (suspended), Ben Stratton, Brad Sewell (both returning from hamstrings), Lance Franklin (Sydney Swans), Brent Guerra and Max Bailey (both retired). The Dockers were missing four from their Grand Final team: Nat Fyfe, Zac Dawson (both suspended), Michael Barlow (knee) and Zac Clarke (returning from a knee).