Head to head: Collingwood 93 wins, Hawthorn 55 wins
Last time: Hawthorn 18.13 (121) d Collingwood 11.10 (76), round 16, 2009 at the MCG
Lance Franklin, who is suspended this week, booted five goals on the night as Hawthorn’s seven goal-to-nil third term set up a convincing 45-point win over the Pies - ending Collingwood’s seven-match winning streak. Luke Hodge dominated while Alan Didak had a dirty night. He’ll be glad Ben McGlynn has moved on to the Sydney Swans after the former Hawk wore him like a glove in the round-16 encounter last year.
MISSING IN ACTION
Hawthorn
Max Bailey (knee) - indefinite
Shaun Burgoyne (hamstring) - test
Lance Franklin (suspension) - 1 week
Josh Gibson (hamstring) - 12 weeks
Rhan Hooper (hamstring) - 2-3 weeks
Jordan Lewis (concussion) - test
Brad Sewell (shoulder) - 1-2 weeks
Liam Shiels (suspension) - 2 weeks
Wayde Skipper (hamstring) - 5 weeks
Simon Taylor (leg) - 13-15 weeks
LAST WEEK
Hawthorn 12.12 (84) lost to Western Bulldogs 14.16 (100) at Etihad Stadium
Despite Cyril Rioli’s heroics the Hawks ran out of legs against the fresher Bulldogs. Whether it was their taxing Easter Monday clash against Geelong, a lack of manpower after again suffering injuries or whether they just couldn’t keep pace with Rodney Eade’s team, Hawthorn’s loss meant it went 1-2 after three rounds.
Leading goalkicker: Jarryd Roughead (11)
Leading ballwinner: Sam Mitchell (91)
DANGER MAN:
With usual nemesis Lance Franklin missing, the Magpies are likely to turn their attention to Luke Hodge, who has also cut Collingwood to shreds in the past. Hodge had 15 touches and two goals in round seven, 2008 before his hammy went pop, forcing him to miss three weeks. He returned to collect 32 touches in his side’s big win later that year. However, he saved his best effort against Collingwood for round 16 last year, when he had 34 disposals, seven inside-50s, five clearances and three goals (and three Brownlow votes) to destroy the Pies.
HOW’S STAT?
Despite only having won one match this year, Hawthorn has been getting away to good starts. It has won every first quarter it has played this year. The only other team to match the Hawks in that area is the top-of-the-ladder Saints.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
It's a big game for both clubs, but more particularly the Hawks. Lose and Al Clarkson’s men go 1-3. The Pies are a chance to slip out of the eight should they go down. With a tough fortnight to follow against Essendon (Anzac Day) and Carlton, a win would re-ignite Collingwood’s year.
WHAT THE OPPOSITION SAYS
“We haven’t won a last quarter for the season to date. Is it that we haven’t got enough fitness? Do we need to do a little bit more work with our program or is it the actual implication of losing a couple of soldiers along the way?
“We’ve been a little bit stiff in the pre-season games and the first couple of rounds to date but we’ve got a resilient group and we’ll get our guys right and pick another 22 guys and run out against the Pies and I’m sure we’ll give a good account against ourselves.” - Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson after last week’s loss
WHAT THE PIES SAY
“Hodge and Mitchell are obviously their highest ball winners, so you’ve got to respect those two players.
“Obviously we’ve got some plans in place and, without giving too much away, hopefully we can expose them in some way.
“You’ve got to plan for them not only playing in the middle. As we know with Hodge can play anywhere, in the middle and down back. Mitchell was injured and went forward against us last time and also in the middle.
“We’ve got to look at both of them and try to work on their deficiencies.” - Collingwood opposition coach Paul Hudson on Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
