Gold Coaster Brent Renouf has had an AFL debut he’ll never forget.

The 20-year-old Hawthorn ruckman could have been excused for thinking he was in football heaven after the ladder-leading Hawks had come from behind to steal an extraordinary four-point Round 12 win over the fourth-placed Adelaide Crows at AAMI Stadium on Saturday night.

Renouf couldn’t wipe the massive smile off his face as he stood in the middle of the players’ circle as they sung the club sung with extra special gusto, following the normal ritual of pouring water and energy drinks over the first-gamer and giving him plenty of good-natured pats on the back.

It was a night to remember. It was the first time in 14 years the Hawks had beaten the Crows in Adelaide and they did it after trailing at every change … by one point at quarter-time, two points at half time and three points at three-quarter time.

In the end a clever snap from Luke Hodge got the Hawks home 11-10-76 to 10-12-72 in front of a crowd of vocal home crowd of 44,559.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said Renouf had “competed really well” in the ruck, and had shown sufficient faith in the young Gold Coaster to give him extended ground time in a pressure-packed final quarter.

He finished with statistics of two marks, four handballs, four hit-outs, four tackles, one clearance and one contested possession, and a 100% effective rating for his disposals.

Fellow Gold Coaster Michael Osborne also had a good night, collecting 21 possessions, 10 marks and five tackles to go with two goals – including a 60m boomer out of the centre at a critical stage in the final term.

In the Crows outfit, Kurt Tippett had four possessions, one mark and one hit-out.

One Gold Coaster triumphed over another at the MCG on Saturday where Ben Hudson’s Western Bulldogs hammered Daniel Merritt’s Brisbane Lions by 63 points.

Hudson collected 19 possessions and 17 hit-outs, while Merrett, at the back of a Brisbane defensive group under enormous pressure, did well to hold Will Minson goalless while collecting seven possessions.

In Perth, David Hale grabbed 13 possessions, seven marks and nine hit-outs as North Melbourne suffered a costly loss to Fremantle by 53 points Saturday afternoon.

Hale, alternating between the ruck and a deep forward role in recent weeks, faces a heavier workload in the ruck in the coming weeks after No.1 ruckman Hamish McIntosh suffered a nasty knee injury that will sideline him for a minimum 10 weeks.

The woes continued for Gold Coast pair Nick Riewoldt and Sam Gilbert as St.Kilda went down to the Sydney Swans in Sydney by 35 points Saturday night.

Riewoldt bad 20 possessions and eight marks but kicked one goal three behinds, while Gilbert, in his first game since Round 5, came off the bench and finished with nine possessions.

Luke McGuane enjoyed a rare win at the MCG yesterday, collecting 10 possessions and six marks as the Tigers beat Melbourne by 22 points.

Ricky Petterd continued his comeback, playing his second game in the Sandringham reserves, while James Mulligan, celebrating his 19^th birthday on Saturday, kicked two goals for the Williamstown reserves.

Jesse White played in the Sydney Swans reserves side and Joel Tippett was a member of the Suncoast Lions side that consolidated top spot in the AFLQ State League with a win over Labrador.

Adelaide Crow Brad Moran remains on the injured list with Lions pair Wayde Mills and Haydn Kiel.