Talking Hawks

Hawthorn have continued their dominant start to the season, winning by 20 points at a wet MCG on Thursday night, with the final scoreline reading 12.8 (80) to 8.12 (60).

In front of a crowd of 62,735, the Hawks won three of the four quarters and ended up walking away from their first Thursday night home-and-away clash since 2017 with the all-important four points, continuing to reaffirm their status as genuine flag hopefuls.

Assisted by the fact Carlton was dealt a blow just before the bounce with...

After last week’s impressive 20-point victory over last year’s Grand Finalists, the Sydney Swans, questions lingered about whether Hawthorn could back up that performance against a fresh Essendon side.

The Bombers had their opening round game against Gold Coast postponed due to Cyclone Alfred, but they looked sharp all throughout the pre-season.

However, Hawthorn was once again up to the task, defeating Essendon by 26 points at the MCG on Friday night.

The Hawks rose to the occasion, responding...

After suffering a crushing 60-point loss in last year’s most significant game, there was no doubt Sydney would be gunning for redemption in 2025. Hawthorn, on the other hand, needed to come out firing from the start against last season’s Grand Finalists.

After all, Sam Mitchell’s men have had their colours lowered by Sydney in recent years, losing five of their past six clashes, including their biggest defeat of last season, a brutal 76-point loss in round 7.

But this time, the Hawks were ready....

Matthew Younan

Finn Maginness is arguably one of the AFL’s most underrated players, quietly cementing himself as one of the competition’s best taggers in 2023, and in 2024, he diversified his role, becoming a more consistent and versatile performer across other multiple areas of the game.

His ability to nullify the influence of some of the league’s brightest stars is often overlooked, but the former Scotch College student’s consistent performance speaks for itself....

Matthew Younan:

After making the move from St Kilda at the end of 2013, the 2-metre ruckman had a tumultuous 2014 season, being in and out of a side that had just won a premiership and was in pursuit of forming a dynasty. 

His first two games were sublime, demonstrating why Alastair Clarkson was keen to bring him across from St Kilda.

However, setbacks arose.

First, it was injuries that kept him out and then it was promising young ruckman Jonathan Ceglar, who was playing incredibly well....