HAWTHORN’S once-unlikely charge towards a first finals berth in six years continues to gather steam after an emphatic 66-point win over Adelaide on Sunday.
Sam Mitchell's charges had a 0-5 start to the season but are now 11-8 and just percentage outside the top eight after their 19.10 (124) to 8.10 (58) win at the Adelaide Oval.
CROWS v HAWKS Full match coverage and stats
After Josh Rachele kicked Adelaide's sixth for the day early in the second term, Hawthorn piled on 13 unanswered goals to record an ominous thumping.
The Hawks also kept the Crows goalless for almost all of the entire second half, until the home side kicked two consolation goals in the last 90 seconds of the match.
Smooth-moving midfielder Will Day was prolific, excelling from the opening whistle alongside the superb Connor Macdonald (28 disposals, two goals).
Jarman Impey and Karl Amon delivered plenty of drive and quality foot skills off half-back, while Jai Newcome provided grunt.
Skipper James Sicily celebrated his 150th game with two goals, while Mabior Chol (two goals, seven marks) grew better as the match went on, the pair among 11 individual goalkickers for Hawthorn.
Taylor Walker kicked three goals for Adelaide, while Jake Soligo (30 disposals), Lachlan Sholl (29) and Rory Laird (29) fought hard around the ball.
Adelaide's Max Michalanney is likely to attract MRO scrutiny for a scuffle in which he appeared to shove Watson's head into the ground several times.
The typically energetic Hawks snagged three of the game's first four goals, with evergreen veteran Luke Breust kicking two.
Adelaide youngster Billy Dowling thought he had toe-poked the Crows in front late in the term, but the ball was ruled to have come off his knee.
Then, Riley Thilthorpe gave Adelaide a six-point lead at the first change.
The second term was a see-sawing affair, highlighted by a wonderful sidestep and goal on the run from Day, as the Hawks nudged out to a 15-point lead at half-time.
Hawthorn then added four more goals to extend its lead to 30 points at three-quarter time.
In the final term the Crows appeared out on their feet while the Hawks kept coming, racking up six more goals to turn the game into a thrashing.
Luckless Hawthorn defender Changkuoth Jiath came off sore late in the game.
Hawthorn next faces tough tests against Greater Western Sydney in Canberra and Carlton at the MCG, followed by clashes with cellar dwellars Richmond (MCG) and North Melbourne (Launceston).
Adelaide, sitting 15th and out of finals contention, plays Geelong at GMHBA Stadium next round.
It's all just one big brown and gold party
In game 150 for James Sicily, his loving teammates were never going to let the moment pass with anything less than a win. However, with a dodgy shoulder and stuck in a backline that didn't see a whole lot of action on Sunday, the skipper’s input was limited. But Sam Mitchell wasn't going to let the occasion pass without something to celebrate. Sicily moved forward for the last term and duly slotted a set shot - providing one more reason for the young Hawks to go wild.
Where are the Crows?
After missing finals through the barest of (disputable) margins last year plenty was expected of Adelaide in 2024, but while there have been flashes of life, the Crows have failed to deliver. The club has had its fair share of injuries but no more than that, and is sitting in 15th place with a tough four games ahead that will unlikely see them move any higher. Surely that one overruled shot on goal in last year's final round hasn't left scars in a similar fashion to the 2017 Grand Final loss and subsequent post-season. Or has Adelaide developed a fragility that lives within the club's four walls? Whatever the case, there is more than just football skills that need to be worked on over summer as Matthew Nicks looks to exorcise the ghosts of failed campaigns past.
Hollywood Hawks are ready for their close up
Last week's performance against Collingwood was a coming-of-age moment for Jack Ginnivan, the former Magpie playing the game of his life and giving plenty to the black and white fans who previously adored him. But maybe it was the game he had to have to finally move on and change his persona. The livewire forward came out on Sunday with a new haircut, but it wasn't bleached or buzzcut or in dreadlocks, instead looking more like a 1940's movie star. And Jai Newcombe had traded his long locks for a similar style. Are these young guns maturing, or is it just a little more Hollywood in Hawthorn?
ADELAIDE 5.6 6.6 6.8 8.10 (58)
HAWTHORN 5.0 9.3 13.8 19.10 (124)
GOALS
Adelaide: Walker 3, Thilthorpe 2, Rachele, Murphy, Keays
Hawthorn: Watson 2, Newcombe 2, Dear 2, Chol 2, Sicily 2, Ginnivan 2, Breust 2, Macdonald 2, Moore, Impey, Day
BEST
Adelaide: Soligo, Sholl, Laird, Hinge
Hawthorn: Day, Newcombe, Impey, Nash, Macdonald
INJURIES
Adelaide: Nil
Hawthorn: Jiath (shoulder)
LATE CHANGE
Adelaide: Brodie Smith (illness) replaced by Dan Curtin
SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: Dan Curtin, replaced Elliott Himmelberg in the third quarter
Hawthorn: Finn Maginness, replaced Luke Breust at three-quarter time
Crowd: 41,823 at Adelaide Oval
