The fourth of Hudson’s six goals for the day brought up his ton. It was a good day all round as Hawthorn 15.11.101 defeated Collingwood 11.10.76 in front of 25,928 at Glenferrie.
Hudson’s century was the 16th in VFL history. He went on to top the ton a total of five times (1968-71 and 1977), a number which was surpassed by Jason Dunstall, who managed it on six occasions (1988-89, 1992-94 and 1996). The tally of 11 centuries is the most any club has produced, ahead of Collingwood 10 and the Swans 7. All told in VFL-AFL history there have now been 56 individual instances of players reaching the century.
Others Hawthorn players who went close were Michael Moncrieff (97 in 1976 and 90 in 1978), Leigh Matthews (91 in 1977) and a special mention to Jack Green who kicked 80 goals in 1934, in an 18 game season.
The attendance of 49,529 at last Sunday’s game against Sydney was the eighth occasion this season that Hawthorn has attracted a 40,000 plus crowd, a new club record for a home away season.
The previous high of seven was recorded in 1999, 2001 and 2007, while there were six instances in each of 1990, 1992, 1993, 2000, 2002 and 2006. With the potential for several more 40,000 plus crowds to come this season, the new record should end up being much higher than eight.
Hawthorn first broke through the 40,000 crowd barrier for a home and away game in Round 2, 1963 when a crowd of 55,293 saw the Hawks clash with Melbourne at the MCG. The record attendance prior to that had been 38,906 for the same fixture in 1958.
Jarryd Roughead has now reached 49 goals for the season and, when he kicks one more to reach 50, it will be the first time Hawthorn has had two players reach 50 in the one season since 1993. In that year, Jason Dunstall kicked 123 and Paul Hudson 51.
While at least two Hawks reached 50 goals for the season in 13 of the 20 years from 1974 to 1993, it has otherwise been an elusive feat, not having been achieved before, or after, that era. Twice three Hawthorn players reached 50 – Hudson, Matthews and Hendrie in 1977, and Matthews, Judge and Brereton in 1984.
Hawthorn’s loss to StKilda in Round 16 last season, is the Hawks only loss at Docklands in the club’s last ten games at the venue. By way of comparison, the Hawks have won 8 of their past 10 at the MCG, and 7 of their past 10 at Aurora Stadium.
The victory over Sydney means every opponent has been beaten at least once in Alistair Clarkson’s tenure as coach. Sydney now joins the Western Bulldogs and this week’s opponent, St Kilda, as the team that have only been beaten once since the beginning of 2005.
Incidentally, Clarkson this round has the opportunity to reach a 50 per cent success rate for the first time. He currently has 41 wins and 42 losses from 83 starts.
Hawthorn’s sole recent victory over St Kilda came at the MCG in Round 8 last season. That win ended a sequence of four losses for the Hawks against St Kilda, but the Saints made it 5 out of 6 when they avenged that defeat in Round 16.
The Hawks are in front on the head-to-head battle with 73 wins and 69 defeats, plus one draw (in 1944). The Hawks lead is the product of 20 consecutive wins against St Kilda from 1979 to 1989, the Club’s second best sequence against any opponent. Since the winning streak ended, St Kilda holds a narrow advantage 14 wins to 13 in the last 18 seasons.
Like Round 15, Round 16 is one of the few rounds where Hawthorn has a positive record. In 83 games played in this round, Hawthorn has won 42 and lost 41. However, it has not been a good round in recent seasons with the most recent Round 16 win being back in 2003, when the Hawks recorded a seven point victory over Melbourne.
The individual match goal kicking record for Round 16 is shared by Peter Hudson, Jason Dunstall and Dermott Brereton who kicked 11 in 1970, 1989 and 1990 respectively. Hudson also holds the record for the highest number of goals by a Hawthorn player against St Kilda, kicking 12 in 1971.
