JARRYD Roughead continued his love for Launceston as Hawthorn beat the Western Bulldogs by 62 points to grab top spot on the ladder.
Roughead kicked six goals, as many as the Bulldogs managed, during the Hawks’ 16.11 (107) to 6.9 (45) victory at Aurora Stadium on Sunday.
The reigning premiers joined the Sydney Swans and Geelong on 14 wins, with the 62-point margin allowing them to leapfrog the Swans.
The Hawks are well placed to top the table for the third season in a row, although they face tricky clashes against Fremantle and the Cats in the final four rounds.
Midfielders Sam Mitchell (flu) and Isaac Smith (tight calf) were last-minute withdrawals for the hosts, although they were barely missed in the opening 12 minutes.
Hawthorn piled on four goals before the Bulldogs scored.
Coupled with the ease and speed at which the Hawks moved the ball and Ben McEvoy's outstanding pack marks at either end of the ground, it had all the makings of a shellacking.
But the Dogs found their snarl.
Led by young guns Jack Macrae and Tom Liberatore in the middle, the visitors worked hard to keep their opposition honest.
They got within 13 points in the first quarter and 17 in the third term, but Hawthorn's hold on the four premiership points was never seriously called into question.
Part of that was the Bulldogs' inaccuracy, especially in the second quarter when they managed four behinds only and Jake Stringer sprayed another shot out on the full.
Part of it was Roughead, Jack Gunston and Luke Breust - whose partnership has taken on 'if Lillee doesn't get you, Thommo must!' proportions this season.
Breust was quiet, but Roughead kicked a goal in every quarter and Gunston finished with three before appearing to injure his ankle in the final term.
Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said he was particularly impressed with the way his side was able to dominate contested possessions and comfortably win the clearance count.
“We needed to focus on some areas of the game, particularly against a Western Bulldogs side that are really strong at contested footy and clearances and we managed to win those two areas handsomely by the end of the day,” he said after the game.
“That was the key focus for us. We thought if we could win that area of the game it would go a long way to us winning.”
Dogs coach Brendan McCartney said he believed the Hawks were the most impressive side in the League.
“I don’t know what their reaction to the win was but I haven’t seen too many better teams than them this year, to be honest. They’re probably the best I’ve seen,” he said after the match.
“They can deal with games and win however it’s needed. Today they were strong and passionate about beating us at our strength which is at the stoppage and contested ball area.
“We had patches where they got some dominance and we didn’t deal with that very well.”
Jordan Roughead initially had the job on his cousin, but McCartney switched Mark Austin onto the Hawks key forward in the second term when he kicked his third.
Austin toiled manfully but Roughead still boosted his season tally to 50 goals.
Roughead's haul brings his average in Launceston this season to 5.25 goals.
The result gave the Hawks a flawless four wins at their home away from home in 2014.
They have suffered one loss from their past 19 matches at the Tasmanian venue.
For the Dogs, Bob Murphy had a game-high 32 disposals.
Will Minson battled admirably and tirelessly against McEvoy and David Hale, but both of Hawthorn's ruckmen dobbed a goal.
Hawthorn's Ben McEvoy and Bulldog Mark Austin keep their eyes on the ball. Picture: AFL Media
HAWTHORN 5.2 7.6 11.7 16.11 (107)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 2.1 2.5 5.7 6.9 (45)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Roughead 6, Gunston 3, Lewis 2, McEvoy, Duryea, Hale, Breust, Simpkin
Western Bulldogs: Campbell 2, Dahlhaus, Higgins, Crameri, Stringer
BEST
Hawthorn: Roughead, Shiels, Suckling, Birchall, Lewis, Langford
Western Bulldogs: Murphy, Griffen, Macrae, Minson, Liberatore
INJURIES
Hawthorn: Mitchell (illness) replaced in selected side by Will Langford; Smith (calf) replaced in selected side by Taylor Duryea; Gunston (lower leg)
Western Bulldogs: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Hawthorn: Jonathon Simpkin replaced Ryan Schoenmakers in the final quarter.
Western Bulldogs: Koby Stevens replaced Adam Cooney in the third quarter.
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Burgess, Hosking, Schmitt
Official crowd: 14,187 at Aurora Stadium
