With Lance Franklin (four goals) and Jarryd Roughead (three) leading the way in attack, the Hawks led from start to finish as they cruised home to win 17.12 (114) to 13.14 (92).
The Demons outscored the Hawks five goals to one in a largely uninspiring final term, but last year’s champs had led by about seven goals for a large majority of the contest.
Midfielder Jordan Lewis, skipper Sam Mitchell and first-gamer Beau Muston (all 31 possessions) were both prolific and creative for the winners.
For Melbourne, forward Colin Sylvia was superb all night, and slotted his fourth goal after the final siren. Seconds earlier, several players had been involved in a scuffle as tensions rose – perhaps as a result of the Hawks’ decision to chip the ball around in the final minutes.
While they slowed down considerably in the final quarter, the Hawks appear back on track.
Just a fortnight ago, some pundits were wondering whether Alastair Clarkson’s team could again go all the way as the Hawks seemingly faced a crippling injury toll and question-marks over their hunger in 2009.
However, wins over Fremantle last week and Sunday evening’s triumph over the Demons has them safely inside the top eight after nine rounds.
The comfortable win over the Demons saw the Hawks play some of their best football of the season in patches, with a dominant first-half paving the way for their fifth victory of the year.
While Melbourne tried to hang tough, it was evident from the outset the Demons were fighting out of their weight division.
The bigger bodies of Lewis, Brad Sewell and Mitchell helped the Hawks win most of the stoppages, while Franklin and Roughead always loomed large.
The Hawks booted the first two goals of the game – fittingly through two of their Aboriginal stars taking the field during the League’s Indigenous Round, Chance Bateman and Franklin – before Russell Robertson answered for Melbourne.
However, ‘Buddy’ booted two in quick succession midway through the term, and by the first change, his team led by 21 points.
Debutant Muston, the feel-good story of the night, showed why the Hawks have persisted with him despite his knee troubles as he gathered 10 first-quarter touches, and continued to look at ease throughout the night at half-back.
At the other end, Roughead made the most of his opportunities, while Bateman’s run took its toll on the opposition.
Melbourne’s night up until the main break could perhaps best be illustrated by an apparent brain-fade by Robertson.
After he had taken a spectacular mark in the goalsquare – with a seemingly certain goal to follow – the Demon veteran lazily tried to kick the ball over his head through the sticks while still lying on his back.
Alert to the eccentric Dee’s ploy, Hawk Garry Moss thwarted his attempt, and Melbourne was denied. By half time, the Hawks had more than doubled their quarter-time advantage to 43 points.
For the Demons, Sylvia was a one-man band in attack. While he finished the match with an astonishing 37 disposals, his third-quarter efforts, in particular, were superb.
He booted three consecutive majors to briefly give his team hope in the third term as he gave the Hawthorn defence any number of headaches.
But Cyril Rioli conjured a couple of gems, and Brent Guerra floated forward to snuff out any thoughts the Demons had of a revival, and the margin was back out to 47 points at the final break.
The only interest in the final term was how much the Hawks would win by, and what they could add to the highlights reel.
Muston’s long bomb from 50m in the opening minutes brought one of the loudest cheers of the night, but the Dees then finished with a flourish.
Melbourne was never going to pinch the game as the Hawks started to chip the ball around to run down the clock, but Bailey would have been pleased with the way his men maintained the fight.
Next week, the Hawks travel to AAMI Stadium to take on Adelaide, while Melbourne makes the trip north to take on St Kilda at Gold Coast Stadium.
Hawthorn 6.2 11.7 16.9 17.12 (114)
Melbourne 2.5 4.6 8.10 13.14 (92)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Franklin 4, Roughead 3, Bateman 2, Guerra 2, Rioli 2, McGlynn, Muston, Osborne, Williams
Melbourne: Sylvia 4, Martin 2, Robertson 2, Bate, Bruce, Johnson, McDonald, McLean
BEST
Hawthorn: Lewis, Muston, Mitchell, Franklin, Sewell, Roughead
Melbourne: Sylvia, Green, McLean, Moloney, Johnson, Jones
INJURIES
Hawthorn: Stokes (hamstring tightness), Moss (leg)
Melbourne: Whelan (nose), Bate (corked thigh)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Hay, Avon
Official crowd: 39,395 at MCG
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
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