THE HAWTHORN juggernaut continued at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night, with the premiers demolishing Gold Coast by 99 points.
The 23.10 (148) to 7.7 (49) victory was the Hawks' 11th straight, and fourth this season.
It sets up a mouth-watering Easter Monday contest against arch-rival Geelong, which is also unbeaten after four rounds.
Hawthorn was emphatic after a tight first quarter, kicking the game's last 11 goals to expose the huge gulf in class between the premiers and a finals aspirant.
After quarter-time the Hawks were ruthless, kicking 17 goals to just three.
The only minor injury concern is defender Matt Spangher, who will need his twisted ankle scanned.
Coach Alastair Clarkson played down the win, saying his side still had plenty to work on.
"To restrict them to three goals after the first quarter was a pretty impressive effort," he said.
"They had 21 inside-50s in the third quarter. We repelled their attacks, we set up really smartly behind the ball.
"The last two weeks have been pretty impressive but the game evolves and changes so quickly, some of it with personnel, some of it with some with style of play.
"It's unlikely you can use the same game plan for the whole season. We’re going to need to keep evolving and work on things."
The midfield was relentless and more polished, led by Sam Mitchell (36 disposals and two goals) who had 11 first-quarter touches.
When the match was at its most fierce in the opening term, Shaun Burgoyne had 13 of his 25 disposals to set the tone, while captain Luke Hodge (32) returned strongly from a groin injury.
Hawthorn had 12 goalkickers, led by Jack Gunston with five and Jarryd Roughead four.
They had 12 players with 20 disposals or more, including the rebounding backline of Josh Gibson (31), Matt Suckling (29 and two goals) and Grant Birchall (27).
After a red-hot battle in the first quarter – that included a Sam Day hanger on Gibson's shoulders - Hawthorn strangled the Suns in the second quarter to end the game as a contest.
They went inside 50 on 22 occasions to nine, kicking five goals to two and building an unassailable 33-point lead at the main break.
Gold Coast was certainly not disgraced in its first-half performance, but dropped off significantly after the break.
Coach Guy McKenna was scratching his head after the second-half capitulation and said he would have to review the game before making rash statements.
"Clearly their polish was a lot better than ours," McKenna said.
"To be down by 50 points (late in the third) and lose it by 100, that's the thing we certainly need to review on Monday - that last quarter and just why the cards fell over as easily as they did."
Their intensity was terrific in the opening two quarters, but fumbles and turnovers cost them dearly.
Despite the attention of young tagger Will Langford for much of the match, Suns captain Gary Ablett was again magnificent for his team.
While he didn't reach his average of 39 touches over his previous four games against the Hawks, the dual Brownlow medallist got mighty close, finishing with 36, including 11 clearances.
On another sour note for the Suns, young defender Clay Cameron has a grade two tear of the AC joint in his shoulder and will miss some matches.
Gold Coast is now 2-2 and faces Melbourne and Greater Western Sydney in the next fortnight.
Hawthorn had Gary Ablett and the Suns well under wraps on Saturday night. Picture: AFL Media
GOLD COAST 4.4 6.4 7.5 7.7 (49)
HAWTHORN 6.4 11.7 16.9 23.10 (148)
GOALS
Gold Coast: O’Meara, Hall, Shaw, Lynch, Ablett, Rischitelli, Swallow
Hawthorn: Gunston 5, Roughead 4, Rioli 2, Mitchell 2, Suckling 2, Breust 2, Hale, Smith, Shiels, Hill, Simpkin, Puopolo
BEST
Gold Coast: Ablett, Swallow, Rischitelli
Hawthorn: Gunston, Mitchell, Burgoyne, Hodge, Roughead
INJURIES
Gold Coast: Nil
Hawthorn: Spangher (ankle)
SUBSTITUTES
Gold Coast: Jack Hutchins on for Luke Russell in the third quarter
Hawthorn: Jonathan Simpkin on for Matt Spangher in the third quarter.
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Fisher, Stevic and Harris
Official crowd: 17,729 at Metricon Stadium
