HAWTHORN is 3-0 for just the third time this century – it won the premiership in 2008 and 2014 – but the Hawks are bracing to lose Connor Macdonald to another ankle injury from Thursday night's 20-point win over Carlton at the MCG.
After losing James Worpel to a syndesmosis injury in Opening Round and Jack Scrimshaw to a three-game suspension – plus concussion and a broken nose – last Friday night, Macdonald was substituted out of the game before half-time.
BLUES v HAWKS Full match coverage and stats
Hawks coach Sam Mitchell said the 22-year-old will undergo scans on Friday morning, but believes the unbeaten side has options waiting in the wings to step in, after Changkuoth Jiath and Jack Gunston proved that point in their first appearances of 2025.
"It is disappointing for him. I'm not sure exactly what the ankle injury is. He'll have a scan (on Friday) and we'll work it out from there," Mitchell said.
"Obviously 'Worps' is out now. Jack Scrimshaw is going to miss a couple more too. We are fortunate that the depth is pretty good, so if we lose Connor, there will be a replacement."
Hawthorn momentarily fielded 19 players in the second quarter after Adam Cerra kicked a goal for Carlton, before Harry Morrison was quickly removed before the bounce, costing the Hawks a warning under the 6-6-6 rule.
"I only just heard about it when I came in here. The bench guys were saying that someone came off and then didn't realise someone had come on, so someone ran on. It was just a miscommunication," Mitchell explained.
"It obviously cost us a 6-6-6 warning, which we then got another one, so we need to be better than that. We need to be more organised. The ripple effect of things like second rucks caused us a bit of trouble. We need to get better in that area and hope that doesn't happen again."
After recovering from a 0-5 start to return to September last year for the first time since 2018, winning a final for the first time since the 2015 Grand Final, Hawthorn was rewarded with a prime-time fixture in 2025, with round two marking the Hawks' first Thursday night game since 2017.
Mitchell said the blue-collar performance against a Carlton outfit attempting to atone for a disappointing round one performance highlighted the development of a group handling the spotlight of blockbuster fixtures to start the year.
"I think the maturity of the group and how we've handled momentum this year shows some growth. When you see the progression of the team over the past couple of years, there have been things that we've worked on and seen improvement in. I think that's why I'm rapt for the players," Mitchell said.
"It's been a pretty solid start to the season for us: Friday, Friday, Thursday. All big games, lots of eyes. The way we've handled momentum in those games, I'm really pleased we've been able to make progress. We know if we want to get where want to go, we have to beat the best sides and handle momentum swings. We've made significant progress in that area."
Carlton coach Michael Voss said his players produced the effort he demanded after the loss to Richmond, but couldn't execute their opportunities when it mattered.
On the back of Tom De Koning's dominance around stoppage, the Blues won the clearance count (+12), contested ball (+5) and matched Hawthorn's pressure, but managed only eight goals from 54 inside 50s.
"They turned up the intensity a bit and asked some questions, but jeez I'm still happy with our fight," Voss said.
"There is a fair bit of determination with the group throughout the night. Moments… take contested marks, maybe there was an inside 50 they didn't quite hit or a goal we don't quite finish. Often these games come down to moments. Clearly they were able to execute for a bit longer at the right times. that was probably somewhat the difference.
"The focus has been on how we want to play and how consistently we can apply that. We found a better way forward, there is no doubt, after tonight. They are a great oppo to play against. They are very classy. I felt a lot of our system was standing up."
Carlton lost Coleman medallist Harry McKay before the game after the star forward woke up ill and didn't recover in time to play.
After starting the season 0-2, the Blues now face Footscray next Friday night at Marvel Stadium.
