HAWTHORN will have to wait another week to celebrate Lance Franklin’s 100 goals but will leave Subiaco Oval satisfied with an emphatic 71-point win over a resilient West Coast.
Franklin needed six goals to become the first Hawthorn player since Jason Dunstall in 1996 to break the ton but could only manage 4.5 in the Hawks’ 19.19 (133) to 9.8 (62) victory.
The win moves Hawthorn back into second spot on the ladder but Franklin’s milestone will remain a distraction for at least another week, with the Hawks facing Carlton next Saturday.
With the pre-match hype solely focused on Franklin, the Hawks opted to start him on a wing against young Eagle Matthew Spangher.
That match-up lasted only five minutes before Franklin was moved to the more familiar full-forward role, matching up on West Coast skipper Darren Glass.
Franklin struggled to find the ball early but the Hawks capitalised on defensive errors by West Coast to post their first two goals through makeshift forward Campbell Brown and Clinton Young.
Franklin finally broke free with a superb solo effort at the 21 minute mark, taking the ball from a boundary throw-in and snapping truly with his left foot. He followed up minutes later with his second coming from a mark and set shot from 50 metres.
In a high-possession game, the Hawks were dominating around the ground. Rick Ladson, Jordan Lewis, Chance Bateman, Brent Guerra, Stuart Dew, Grant Birchall and Sam Mitchell were all prominent as they took a handy 21-point lead to the first break.
Franklin was back in the action early in the second quarter when a free kick and 50 metre penalty put him in the goal square; the resulting kick landing high in the third tier of the western grandstand.
But back-to-back goals from Ben McKinley kept the Eagles within reach and, despite having the upper hand for most of the term, the Hawks went to the long break still only 21 points ahead.
Hawthorn broke the game open in the third quarter, kicking nine goals to the West Coast’s three; the Hawks’ nine goals being shared among eight goalkickers.
Franklin missed a set shot early and then had to watch a parade of goals before finally kicking his fourth in time-on, a 50m effort from the boundary line which split the middle.
The game was all but over at the final break with the Hawks holding a commanding 58-point lead, and the only question remaining being whether Franklin could find goals number 99 and 100.
The door appeared to open for Franklin when the close-checking Glass was given a rest on the bench midway through the final quarter.
But despite being the constant focus of the Hawk’s forward thrusts, Franklin could manage only two behinds for the quarter to finish the game on 98 goals.
Hawthorn had winners all over the ground, with Lewis (33 possessions) and Guerra (32) outstanding, well-supported by Mitchell (34), Birchall (28), Brad Sewell (33), Bateman(26) and Dew (25), while Brown finished with four goals. Brent Renouf and Simon Taylor teamed-up effectively to negate the influence of Dean Cox around the ground.
Matt Priddis, Quinten Lynch and Chad Fletcher worked hard in a losing West Coast midfield, Michael Braun marked his final game at Subiaco with a solid 23 possession effort, while Glass was outstanding in denying Franklin his 100 goals.
West Coast 1.1 4.3 7.6 9.8 (62)
Hawthorn 4.4 7.6 16.10 19.19 (133)
GOALS
West Coast: McKinley 3, Davis 2, Armstrong, Lynch Seaby, Embley
Hawthorn: Franklin 4, Brown 4, Williams 3,Young 2, Roughead 2, Birchall, Sewell, Bateman, Stokes
BEST
West Coast: Glass, Priddis, Fletcher, Cox, Mackenzie
Hawthorn: Lewis, Guerra, Mitchell, Birchall, Rioli, Williams, Sewell
INJURIES
West Coast: Nil
Hawthorn: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Ryan, Wenn, Armstrong
Crowd: 37,040 at Subiaco Oval
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
