Good through the middle and drifted forward a lot. Carved up Hill in the first half.
Grant Birchall – 5
Broke even with a variety of opponents through the midfield.
Campbell Brown – 3
Dislocated a thumb early on. Came in under an injury cloud and had a quiet night after starting forward with Ryan Hargrave as an opponent.
Robert Campbell – 5
Beaten in the ruck by Will Minson, but good around the ground. Worked hard.
Shane Crawford – 6
Had last weekend off after a solid month of footy and looked better for the rest. Is class.
Trent Croad – 2
An ankle injury in the second term ended his night. Looked good until then on Scott Welsh.
Stuart Dew – 5
Started on Mitch Hahn when Hahn was one of the many ineffective Dogs in the first half.
Lance Franklin – 9
Brilliant start to this finals campaign, just as in last year. A couple of complete misses from set shots made the figures look better than they really were, but Buddy is an excitement machine that has to be seen to be believed.
Brent Guerra – 5
Good in the first half, but faded a bit after the long break when the Dogs pushed harder. Kept Brad Johnson quiet.
Luke Hodge – 9
Terrific job as quarterback of the defence. Chose his opponent and location at will. Franklin will get the glory with eight goals, but Hodge is just as valuable at the other end, starting the ball on its way to the forward line.
Rick Ladson – 5
An injury to the AC joint (shoulder) in the third quarter left him unable to take any further part. The Hawks expect him to be okay for their next match in two weeks.
Jordan Lewis – 7
Kicked a goal, but his value was in the midfield – one of the many Hawks stars. You just can't tag them all out of the game.
Sam Mitchell – 8
Once again stellar through the middle. Goes in to get it, uses it terrifically. The leader of the brilliant Hawks midfield.
Thomas Murphy – 5
Played on Robert Murphy for a fair bit of the game. Kept him quiet, but the ball wasn't in the area too often.
Michael Osborne – 8
Fantastic effort to kick four goals for the first time in his career. Played through the middle as well as drifting forward.
Brent Renouf – 5
Reasonable in the ruck when Campbell wasn't doing the job. Good work around the ground.
Cyril Rioli – 5
Fairly quiet night after finishing second during the week in the NAB AFL Rising Star award. Had a couple of goal assists.
Jarryd Roughead – 7
Should have kicked straighter, but a terrific alternative to Franklin, making it hard for the Doggies defenders to know who to defend.
Brad Sewell – 7
Yet another brilliant cog in the Hawks midfield. His tackling and ability to get the hard ball was terrific. Topped the clearances for the game with eight.
Cameron Stokes – 2
Got a corked hip after being a late replacement for Gilham.
Mark Williams – 3
Quiet night for the sharpshooter. But with the big guns firing, the smaller guns can relax somewhat.
Clinton Young – 6
Slid under the radar, but continued to constantly drive the ball inside 50.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
