Hawthorn face the monumental task of heading to Brisbane next Sunday in their fight to claim a slot in the top four and beating the Lions at a venue they haven’t visited in six years.
Sam Mitchell has never coached an AFL game at the Gabba and the last time these two teams met in Brisbane the Lions won by 19 points in round 11, 2019.
Luke Breust of the Hawks celebrates a goal with his teammates in the win over Melbourne.Credit: Getty Images
Since that meeting, four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson has taken up residency at North Melbourne, Chris Fagan has led Brisbane to a premiership and forward Jack Gunston has defected to the Lions before coming back.
Mitchell will be glad he did. Gunston has kicked a career-high 60 goals for this season, including seven against the Demons at the MCG in a match Hawthorn won by a percentage boosting 36 points.
It is the second time Gunston has kicked seven in a game, following a similar bag against North Melbourne in Tasmania in round 16. He was robbed of an eighth when a spike on the Edge ruled an earlier shot had hit the post.
The 33-year-old triple premiership star forms a crucial part of Mitchell’s four tall forward game plan – Gunston, Mitch Lewis, Mabior Chol and Calsher Dear – an unconventional approach in modern-day football.
It remains to be seen whether it is genius or folly as the Hawks are all but assured to play in their second finals series in succession under Mitchell.
Hawthorn will tackle Brisbane at 7.20pm on Sunday in a match that could determine the final make-up of the ladder.
But after crushing Melbourne, they do enjoy a significant percentage advantage over seventh-placed Fremantle if both teams were to lose next week.
The Sunday night match will follow the clash between the Western Bulldogs (ninth) and Fremantle at Marvel Stadium, starting at 3.15pm. If the Bulldogs lose, they will miss.
Apart from the devastating loss of Will Day in round 21 and the ongoing battle for Josh Weddle to overcome bone stress in his back, Hawthorn appeared to emerge from the Melbourne win with a healthy list.
Reigning premier Brisbane assured themselves a slot in the finals, and a chance to defend their crown, with a comprehensive 57-point victory over Fremantle in Perth on Friday night.
“It’s a big relief,” Fagan said after the Dockers victory. “I was sitting in my hotel room today thinking, ‘if we lose tonight and we lose next week, we could miss finals having 14 wins and a draw – that’s unheard of’.
“But it was just a relief to have that out of the way. And it allows us to plan a little bit forward.
“This is our seventh year in a row that we’ve qualified for finals. That’s hard to do, particularly if you’re an interstate club because you’ve got to travel more and there’s a few more obstacles.”
Brisbane won the flag from fifth place last year.
“I’m sure it’ll drive the group – that desire to finish top-four,” he said.
“I mean, there’s probably 1001 different ways the ladder could end up next week, but we’re in control of our own destiny.”
Brisbane have won 17 of their past 21 games away from home – a remarkable feat.
“So we just should travel somewhere and play next week, to be honest,” Fagan quipped.
One major downer to come out of Friday’s win was a dislocated shoulder to midfielder Jarrod Berry.
Berry’s left shoulder popped out when he was bowled over by Andrew Brayshaw in the final quarter, and it remains to be seen whether it will be a season-ending injury.
“His other shoulder is the one he’s had operated on … so now the other one’s popped out,” Fagan said.
“I don’t know the full extent. Obviously, there’ll be scans and stuff like that.
“It didn’t look good. But sometimes they can find a way to strap them up and get them through the season and have an operation at the end of the year.”
