Spent the first quarter minding Cyril Rioli, but went forward in the second. Kicked three as he made the most of limited opportunities.
Matthew Boyd – 3
Played on Sam Mitchell, who starred for the Hawks with 30 quality touches. Made uncharacteristic errors.
Tim Callan – 4
Beaten by Michael Osborne, but kept Mark Williams quiet when he was looking after him.
Adam Cooney – 6
Rushed when in possession. Like many teammates, didn't handle the pressure of finals football well but did get the ball and use it.
Daniel Cross – 5
Kept missing targets, appeared undecided. Got flattened in the third term. Had the ball a lot but was often ineffective. In the end, he did have 39 possessions, but the statistics flatter him.
Nathan Eagleton – 3
Poor disposal when he got the Sherrin. Another Dog flattered by the stats sheet.
Daniel Giansiracusa – 5
Provided a target forward, but it was a tough night for Dogs in attack. Kicked a couple of goals.
Lindsay Gilbee – 5
Worked well across half-back. Shut Cameron Stokes down, then kept Osborne quiet after his goal spree.
Ryan Griffen – 7
Did some hard work through midfield. Moved back on to Osborne after he had kicked four. Had a variety of opponents and was consistently good.
Mitch Hahn – 5
Went into the centre square in the third term after not seeing much of it in the forward line, mostly due to playing on Luke Hodge. Was better in the centre.
Jarrod Harbrow – 5
Tried hard all night. A good tackle in the first term led to the goal that gave the Dogs a fleeting lead.
Ryan Hargrave – 3
Gave away a stupid free kick, resulting in a goal to Osborne that halted the Dogs’ momentum early in the third term. Was on Osborne when it counted, which is not a positive, given the Hawk’s performance.
Shaun Higgins – 5
Quiet overall. Created a contest when Brent Guerra smashed him to the ground, which allowed Akermanis to kick the Dogs’ second of the third term.
Josh Hill – 5
Looked much better after the long break.Took some good marks deep in defence.
Ben Hudson – 2
Did little in the ruck after missing last week with a hamstring strain. Coach says he's "in a trough", which seems about right.
Brad Johnson – 3
Quiet, and didn't work hard enough when Hawthorn had the ball. Needed to chase when the opportunity arose, which it did, often.
Brian Lake – 5
Was good as third man up several times against Franklin but appeared panicked early. Moved to Franklin as he switched with Dale Morris.
Will Minson – 5
Showed poor delivery and decision-making early, but kept presenting and working hard. The Doggies’ best ruckman.
Dale Morris – 5
Undersized, underweight, and too slow to combat Lance Franklin. He tried hard but was completely beaten as the Hawks kept leaving Franklin one-out in the 50. Was moved to Jarryd Roughead.
Robert Murphy – 5
Had a poor first half, but a good third term, getting a stack of possessions out of the middle and generally using it well. Injured his knee just before the final break.
Farren Ray – 3
Had a number of opponents, but was part of a badly beaten midfield.
Scott Welsh – 3
Had the ball a bit early, but was generally quiet. Spent some time in the hole at centre half-back.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
