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The Hawthorn Hawks took a 26-point win over the Gold Coast Suns on Sunday and move into top spot on the AFL ladder as a result.
Final score
Hawthorn 12.14.86
Gold Coast 8.12.60
This Sunday afternoon the Gold Coast Suns take on football’s toughest task, facing the mighty Hawthorn Hawks at their Tasmanian fortress, Aurora Stadium. Join The Roar from 3:20pm (AEST) for live scores and all the action.
Le’ts begin with a few streaks worth mentioning, shall we?
17 wins in a row for the Hawks at Aurora Stadium.
7 wins in a row for the Hawks against the Suns, and not a single loss yet.
9 losses in a row for the Suns.
History points to a pretty clear favourite in this one, and it’s very hard to mount a case against it.
Gold Coast are done for the season, with a multitude of injuries and a terrible run of losses ruining what was a pretty impressive start.
Hawthorn, on the other hand, are steaming towards their best footy, sitting pretty in third place on the AFL ladder with ten wins and three losses.
We’re getting to a point in the season now where the cogs really start to grind, and the premiership powerhouse takes things up a notch.
Hawthorn currently sit in the competition’s upper echelon for goals (equal fourth), tackles (4th) one-percenters (second) and centre clearances (3rd), key areas which will surely be built on in following weeks.
Interestingly however, the Hawks sit 17th in the competition for rebound-50s – if the Gold Coast can lift in the middle and send the ball deep they might be able to expose the Hawthorn backline which is sometimes undersized and can struggle to repel.
In a huge boost for the favourites they welcome back their captain Luke Hodge after a stint on the sidelines, but on the lopside Cyril Rioli will not play. The superstar has been granted leave by the club and is currently with family in Darwin mourning the death of his grandfather.
Kaiden Brand also gets an opportunity at the expense of the omitted Kade Stewart.
Aaron Hall has earned a recall for the Suns after a strong showing in the twos, while ex-Dog Jarrad Grant and ex-Hawk Mitch Hallahan have also won back their spots.
Three injured players have made way – Sean Lemmens (hamstring), Jesse Longergan (illness) and the mega-unlucky Kade Kolodashnij (concussion).
At this point in the season the Suns don’t have much to play for, but putting up a decent fight will surely earn some respect for the battling club.
Gary Ablett is a proud man, and will be hoping for the club’s best showing since it last won in Round 3. Tom J Lynch when on is very hard to contain, while Jack Martin’s enormous talent continues to tease – up against the benchmark of the sport, it’s time to show what they’re made of.
Jack Gunston and Luke Breust both sit in the league’s top ten for goalkicking and could boost those numbers dramatically against a bottom side.
James Sicily is also developing into a weapon down forward and will be looking to continue his good form of late.
So many big name players in this midfield – Hodge, Mitchell, Lewis, Smith – talk about having your hands full.
The Hawks can make a big statement here today and put one hand on a top four spot, something becoming more crucial by the week.
Prediction
Hawks to win and win big.
Hawthorn by 75.
Can the Gold Coast pull off the unlikeliest of upsets in Tasmania or will the Hawks juggernaut keep on rolling? Join The Roar from 3:20pm (AEST) for all the scores and a live blog – and join in the discussion below!
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