Hawks topple Dogs in boilover

Alastair Clarkson’s farewell tour has toppled another AFL contender with Hawthorn upsetting the finals-bound Western Bulldogs by 27 points.

The Hawks controlled most of Saturday’s dour contest in Launceston, apart from a brief Bulldogs surge in the third quarter, to rack up three straight wins for the first time since 2019.

After leading by 14 points at the final break, 14th-placed Hawthorn got even better as they kept the Bulldogs goal-less in the last quarter to prevail 9.10 (64) to 5.7 (37) in one of the boilovers of the season.

In a concern for the Bulldogs, it was the first time all season they have dropped consecutive games, only a fortnight before the finals start.

The Bulldogs were rocked pre-game by the withdrawal of defender Ryan Gardner, who was barred from entering Tasmania after attending a COVID-19 exposure site.

Hawthorn had their own late change, with star midfielder Jaeger O’Meara out due to knee soreness.

But even without O’Meara, the Hawks continued their red-hot form since Clarkson’s exit from the club was brought forward by 12 months after wins against Brisbane and Collingwood.

Daniel Howe, who has been in-and-out of the seniors since being drafted in 2014, produced a career-best game with 34 possessions and a goal.

Hawthorn dominated the Bulldogs in most areas, winning the inside-50 count 51-35.

Hawks ruckmen Jon Ceglar and Ben McEvoy destroyed Bulldogs big man Tim English, producing a lopsided 55-15 hit-out count.

Luke Beveridge’s team looked directionless up forward without star Josh Bruce, who hurt his knee late in last week’s defeat to Essendon.

The Bulldogs need to defeat Port Adelaide next week to secure their top-four spot, while the Hawks will look to send Clarkson and retiring veteran Shaun Burgoyne off on a high when they face Richmond.