ESSENDON found trouble all day – mostly because of its penchant for handball – but an all-too-familiar problem proved the Bombers' downfall on Saturday.
Not once in 2018 had Essendon won a third term, an ugly theme that added another chapter at the MCG.
Hawthorn trailed the Bombers by seven points at half-time, but piled on six goals to none in the third quarter to firmly snatch control on its way to a 13.12 (90) to 10.7 (67) victory.
They are the competition's only side not to win a third quarter, and to add insult to injury the sixth of those Hawks' goals, from Tom Mitchell, shouldn't have counted, with the siren having already sounded.
WATCH: Should this have counted?
Hawthorn's mid-match purple patch included 10 of the game's 11 goals between the first and final terms, after Essendon led by 16 points at the 23-minute mark.
Alastair Clarkson's men reclaimed their top-four spot and improved to 5-2 to strengthen their bid to return to the finals after a one-year absence.
"To be four goals to one down and then get some control back of the game in the middle quarters was really important for us and it was a tough grind," Clarkson said post-match.
GAME BREAKER: Composed Sicily controls down back
"It was really good for our coaching staff and playing group to be challenged and try to find a way to win.
"We were giving the ball back to Essendon far too easily in the first half. I think they had something like a dozen marks off our kicks in the first half and … two in the second half.
"We just became a bit smarter with our ball use as the game wore on and didn’t kick it to Essendon's strengths."
BOMBERS V HAWKS: Click here for full match details
James Sicily's return from his second suspension of the season was a magnificent one and he was the most influential player on the field with 29 disposals and 14 marks.
He bounced back to his intercepting best in defence and his skills were typically excellent, even when others faltered around him, on both sides, in an error-riddled, hard-to-watch opening half.
Sicily showed he'd lost none of his cheek when he taunted Joe Daniher – offering his rival an unreturned 'low five' – after bombing a long goal thanks to a 50m penalty against the out-of-sorts Bombers spearhead.
Captain Jarryd Roughead was also a strong performer, kick-starting his afternoon with a superb dribbling goal early in the second quarter after a goalless fortnight, and finishing with three.
WATCH: Sicily slots it
Tom Mitchell (29) won plenty of possession again, while Isaac Smith warmed to the task following a quiet start and slotted the sealing goal after Essendon cut the deficit to 22 points in the last term.
The Bombers slumped to a 2-5 record on the season and must find a way to arrest their woes coming out of the main break, with a collective negative points differential of 136 in third quarters.
WATCH: Mutch ado for young Bomber
Coach John Worsfold addressed the issue with reporters mid-week, suggesting he may tweak some of their half-time habits in response, but whatever changed didn't work.
"In a nutshell, we got beaten by a better team who took more opportunities, got the ball forward more than us, and were sharper than us," Worsfold said.
"There are a lot of reasons behind that. They were a better team, whether that's on the day or generally, and the other part is we're not playing our best footy.
"There's a lot of things; there's confidence, our ball use is well below what it should be at AFL level, decision making, we're making some poor decisions at times … basically it's those two main things."
ARE THE DONS DONE? Five talking points
The Bombers, who had only eight tackles at quarter-time and just 45 for the day to the Hawks' 72, favoured handball to escape trouble and instead often found it because of that.
By the time they did kick, it was often under intense pressure, including several long-range no-lookers from their defensive 50 that quickly came straight back.
Even Tom Bellchambers, a first-half force, took one of his six contested marks before the main break then elected to handball backwards – rather than put Essendon inside 50 – and turned the ball over.
But Bellchambers (20 disposals, 32 hit-outs) was clearly the Bombers' best player, with skipper Dyson Heppell (28) and Michael Hurley (27), despite some uncharacteristic mistakes, toiling hard as well.
WATCH: Smith cheats the clock
MEDICAL ROOM
Essendon: Adam Saad had some treatment in the third quarter, but returned to the field.
Hawthorn: The Hawks lost Will Langford (back spasms) in the warm-up and Ricky Henderson (gastro) was also a late withdrawal, with Brendan Whitecross and James Cousins taking their respective places. Jarryd Roughead copped a knee to the back in the last quarter, but played out the game. "I'm not certain how serious (Langford's) spasm is, but it's not ideal when you get it an hour before the game. Sometimes they can settle really quickly and sometimes they don't and you can miss three or four weeks. I've got no idea. We'll have to see how he settles tomorrow. Hendo just had a gastro bug, so I'd imagine he'll recover in time to be able to be available for the Sydney game next Friday," Clarkson said.
NEXT UP
Hawthorn has a six-day turnaround for Friday night's big clash with Sydney at the MCG that looms as a major one for both clubs. The Bombers also return to the 'G next Saturday afternoon to face traditional rival Carlton.
ESSENDON 4.2 5.5 5.6 10.7 (67)
HAWTHORN 2.4 4.4 10.7 13.12 (90)
GOALS
Essendon: Baguley, Stewart, Ambrose, Parish, Mutch, Daniher, Bellchambers, Heppell, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Hooker
Hawthorn: Roughead 3, Smith 2, O'Meara, Whitecross, Gunston, Breust, Sicily, Mitchell, Impey, Shiels
BEST
Essendon: Bellchambers, Hooker, Hurley, Stewart
Hawthorn: Sicily, Roughead, O'Meara, Smith, Mitchell
INJURIES
Essendon: Nil
Hawthorn: Henderson out (illness) replaced in selected side by Cousins, Langford out (back spasms) replaced in selected side by Whitecross
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Dalgleish, Mollison, Wallace
Official crowd: 53,018 at the MCG
