DATING back to the start of the 2011 season, the Sydney Swans are 3-8 against Hawthorn, and all eight losses have seen the Hawks win with a score of 100 points or more. In the Swans' three victories, they conceded 69, 81 and 88 points.
So far this season there is one basic formula for a Hawthorn win: score at least 100 points. It's clear that in this defensive day and age the threshold is a barometer - so far this season, 41 teams have passed the 100-point mark and 37 of those have kept their opponent under it - but the Hawks are something else on the way to that total.
They've got more players contributing to the scoreboard than any other, with 12 in the League's top 100 for score involvements.
It's no surprise that their three-pronged forward line nudges the top of the pile, but it's a testament to how hard Sam Mitchell works that he has more influence than mainstay forwards Luke Breust and Cyril Rioli.
The 32-year-old former captain had 30 disposals against Melbourne last weekend, 22 of which were effective and 12 that played a part in a score.
Mitchell swings in and out of the centre, which increases his ability to make an impact. He did little inside in the first quarter, instead working the outside early in chains.
Mitchell broke Melbourne's line on centre wing with a handball over the top to Suckling, whose subsequent entry eventually led to a Rioli goal. Mitchell's unfamiliar possessions deep inside Hawthorn's forward 50 helped build their early lead, which was a recurring theme throughout the day.
Mitchell didn't restrict himself to one area of the ground in the first term.
In the third quarter, Mitchell's only possession in the forward 50 was his snap goal.
Other disposals were equally effective, such as a handball out of the centre that drew two defenders and allowed receiver Liam Shiels the space to kick inside 50 for a Ryan Schoenmakers mark and goal.
Mitchell skips the next two centre bounces but comes back for the following two and wins the hard ball both times; the second of those is a clearance and forward-50 entry that leads to the remarkable Rioli tunnel ball.
Mitchell's work in the third term was much more concentrated than the first quarter, and a lot more typical of his season so far.
With Jordan Lewis back in the side this week after serving his two-match ban, not to mention playing a superior side than the Demons, Mitchell's role will change with how he's followed by a Swan.
He didn't touch the ball inside 50 against Port Adelaide in round four (eight-point loss) or North Melbourne in round five (60-point win), but the outcomes were far different. Against the Kangaroos he notched six entries and 12 score involvements after being allowed eight uncontested marks and 28 uncontested possessions.
Mitchell was allowed space to work against North Melbourne, and he made them pay.
The midfielder had none of that fun against the Power the week prior, earning just 10 uncontested possessions, his lowest for a full match since the 2013 grand final. That output meant he had less time to do more with the footy, despite picking it up in his favourite areas.
The retiring Kane Cornes kept him to just three disposals in the first half, and even in the second half, when most of the touches shown below were won, weren't as effective as usual.
Better use from the Port Adelaide loss to the Kangaroos win translated well for Mitchell and Hawthorn. Where it took them over six inside 50s to score a goal against the Power, and over three just to get a scoring shot, against North the Hawks kicked a goal every 3.2 entries and managed a scoring shot every 1.7.
Mitchell just didn't have the time to go to work against Port Adelaide.
As good as Mitchell is at finding a ball that's bouncing around a contest, he's perhaps more influential when he's lifting his head and darting his eyes across the field. With the ability to use any of his hands or feet to progress the ball, he's as damaging a midfielder as any in the League.
Mitchell was equal-second in the Norm Smith Medal voting for last year's grand final win over the Swans. On the day he had 33 disposals (24 uncontested, 28 effective) and nine score involvements; after most matches he'd have been considered in a class of his own.
They don't necessarily need to be reminded, but for the Swans to limit Hawthorn's scoring begins with sticking as close as humanly possible to Mitchell and the incoming Lewis.
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