Last Friday night’s 14.4.88 first half produced Hawthorn’s highest half-time score for almost five years. 

The most recent higher score was back in Round 20 2006, when the Hawks kicked 16.7.103 in the opening half, also against Essendon. Until last Friday night, the next highest in the past five years had been 13.6.84 against Carlton in Round 12 2007 and 12.8.80 against Fremantle in Round 21 last season.

Hawthorn’s highest half-time score was 20.7.127 recorded against North Melbourne at Princes Park in 1982. At the time, this was a first half record for the whole competition, and it has still only been exceeded once, by Brisbane kicking 21.5.131 against Fremantle in 1999. Leigh Matthews provides a common link, captaining one and coaching the other.



Hawthorn has won five of its last six games against Collingwood.

The only blemish came in Round 4 last season when the Hawks were thrashed by 64 points in a Saturday night encounter. However, the Hawks gained revenge with a three point win in Round 22.  In that game, Hawthorn trailed at every change, but stormed home late in the final term. Sam Mitchell (30 disposals) and Lance Franklin (six goals) were outstanding.

Amazingly, only ten members of that Round 22 team were in action for Hawthorn last Friday night. Of the 12 missing players, four (Brown, Hooper, Peterson and Skipper) are no longer at the Club; seven (Gilham, Roughead and Stratton, Ellis, Murphy, Renouf and Young) were injured and one (Franklin) was suspended.



In the previous three seasons (2007-09), Hawthorn had won all four encounters against Collingwood. 

In 2007, the teams met in a sold-out Round 13 Sunday twilight fixture at Docklands with the second placed Hawks scoring an eight point win against the fourth placed Magpies. In 2008, the Hawks thrashed the Magpies twice, by 65 points in Round 7 and 54 points in Round 18. The only 2009 clash came in Round 16 and the 10th placed Hawthorn scored an upset 45 point win over the fourth placed Collingwood.



The absence of so many 2008 premiership stars from the Hawthorn team just three years later is not unprecedented in Hawthorn history. While there was great continuity in the late 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, that was not the case with Hawthorn’s first two premierships. In both Round 15 1964 and Round 15 1974 only eight premiership players, from the 1961 and 1971 flags respectively, participated.



That Round 22 win over the Magpies last year means that twice in the past four seasons, the Hawks had a win over the eventual premier, having also beaten Geelong in 2007. Prior to that, one had to go back to 1994, when Hawthorn beat the eventual premiers West Coast twice to find an instance.



In the 36 years prior to the Hawks’ inaugural premiership year, 1961, they had only beaten Collingwood four times in 61 games and could only look enviously at Collingwood’s 13 premierships. From 1961 onwards, the boot has been on the other foot, with the Hawks holding a 52 to 37 advantage in the head-to-head, and also having won ten Premierships to the Magpies two in the last five decades.

This means that currently, after 150 games, Hawthorn has won 56 and Collingwood 94. Hawthorn’s longest winning sequence against Collingwood is seven which was achieved between 1985 and 1988.



Hawthorn has won more matches in Round 15 than in any other round, the 45 wins being just ahead of Round 16’s 44 wins. In the 27 seasons from 1970 to 1996, Hawthorn’s Round 15 return was 24 wins and only three losses. More recently Hawthorn won its Round 15 games from 2007 to 2009, but last season lost to Geelong by two points.



Hawthorn’s record attendance at a home and away game came thirty years ago, in 1981, when a massive crowd of 92,935 watched Hawthorn beat Collingwood at Waverley. This was the record attendance ever at the outer suburban venue. The biggest crowd to watch a Hawthorn versus Collingwood home and away game at the MCG is the 76,218 who attended in Round 22 last season, just ahead of the 76,048 in Round 7 2008.



Hawthorn and Collingwood have only clashed three times in finals, despite appearing in 14 Finals series together. Hawthorn scored comfortable wins against Collingwood in the 1974 First Semi Final and 1978 Qualifying Final, but lost by two points in the 1977 Second Semi Final.



50 years ago, in Round 15, the 1961 Hawks extended their winning sequence to a new club record of seven, with a comprehensive win against bottom team North Melbourne. It bettered the previous best of six recorded in the final six rounds of 1960.  In the process, Hawthorn reached a century score for the first time in the 1961 season, albeit only just recording 15.10.100 to 6.11.47.

The only time North really threatened was in the second quarter when John Dugdale, playing his 100th game, booted three goals to cut the deficit from 29 to nine. The Hawks then regained control adding eight goals to one for the remainder of the game.

The surprise star for the Hawks was young second rover Jack Cunningham who, in just his fifth game, kicked four goals, two in each of the first and third quarters, showing what one report described as “excellent goal sense”. Most pundits thought it was a toss-up between Les Kaine and Col Youren for best player honours, while others on the list included Cunningham, Winneke, McPherson, Nalder and Young.



40 years ago, in Round 15 1971, Peter Hudson starred with 12 goals as Hawthorn recorded a 23 point win over eventual Grand Final opponent, St Kilda - 20.5.125 to 15.12.102, in front of 22,542 at Glenferrie. The Hawks led for most of the game, except at half-time when they trailed by a goal after being outscored by six goals to two in the second term.  

Apart from Hudson, the multiple goal-scorers for Hawthorn were Bob Keddie and Brian Shinners each with two. At the time, the loss sent the Saints down to sixth, but wins in their remaining six home and away games saw them climb to second and another clash with the Hawks in the Second Semi Final.



20 years ago, in Round 15 1991, Hawthorn featured in a high-scoring Friday night encounter with North Melbourne at the MCG. The teams went into the game in adjoining positions on the ladder (fifth and sixth), a closeness reflected in a pretty even first half which saw the Kangaroos lead by nine points at quarter time and Hawthorn by seven at the half. 

However, the Hawks then produced a 17 goal second half to win 27.17.179 to 18.7.115. Tony Hall kicked six, Paul Hudson five, Jason Dunstall four and Dermott Brereton three, with the Brownlow votes going to Hudson, Hall and Stephen Lawrence.



The best goal-kicking effort by a Hawk against Collingwood is 11 by Jason Dunstall in both 1989 and 1990; followed by Michael Moncrieff with 10 in 1976. 

The best individual return for a Hawthorn player in Round 15 is the 12 goals recorded by Peter Hudson in 1971 (see above).