As we ticked over to quarter time in this contest, I got the feeling that it was going to be one ten-minute burst of good footy that separated these two teams in the end.
And that burst came not long into the second stanza.
As GWS started to feel the pinch of successive injuries to Brent Daniels and Max Gruzewski, the Hawks dropped the hammer, with four goals in just over eight minutes, as goals to Nick Watson, Cam Mackenzie, Jack Ginnivan, and Watson again, gave the Hawks the space required to grind out a tough win over a GWS team that simply refused to lay down.
With Watson sitting out in the second half due to hamstring tightness, the scoring dried up for the Hawks, who were unable to capitalize on their storing second quarter form, but did enough to hold the Giants at bay.
In a game that petered out, just three goals were kicked in the last term, with the Hawks leaving with four more valuable points as they continue to push for a double-chance finish to the season.
HB has eight things he learnt from this one.
1 – THE GIANTS’ MIDFIELD SETUP IS ALL WRONG.
Listening to Adam Kingsley after the game, you could tell he was as confused as anyone else about what was going wrong with the Giants’ clearance game.
“Oliver, Callaghan, Daniels….” he trailed off, lamenting how his midfield, with genuine talent was slaughtered at clearance by a Hawthorn team hell-bent on dominating stoppages.
So, what went wrong for the Giants, and so very, very right for the Hawks?
Well, we start with ruck dominance.
Ned Reeves and Lloyd Meek were just too big and strong for their GWS counterparts, notching 65 hit outs for the game, as the Giants threw Kieren Briggs and Leek Aleer at them in response. They combined to win 25 taps. As a matter of fact, the only time the Giants looked as though they could trouble the Hawks was when Kingsley changed things up drastically, and threw Callum Brown into the ruck for 20 minutes. His athleticism allowed him to follow up at ground level and put distance between him and the lumbering Hawks.
But it was far too late.
The Hawks had first hands on the ball at stoppages a whopping +20 times at halftime, and ended with an overall +24 advantage.
On those numbers alone, you feel that the 14-point margin probably flattered the Giants, but that would be dismissing how hard they worked to win the footy back.
Jai Newcombe continued his Peter Crimmins Medal form, notching 31 touches and 15 clearances, whilst Will Day bullied his way to eight clearances of his own.
The best for GWS?
Finn Callaghan and Toby Greene had four apiece.
So, where did the Giants lack?
Well… everywhere.
Clayton Oliver had 34 touches but has not rediscovered that ferocity at the stoppage contests. He is in the thick of it everywhere else, but he is now becoming a quality link man, as opposed to the unstoppable ball winner he was at Melbourne at his peak.
Finn Callaghan is a brilliant first-release player, with power running his forte, but in terms of winning the footy at the coal face… nup. And when Daniels went down injured, the Giants lost their zippiness around the packs, as well.
They obviously took a massive hit when Tom Green was ruled out for the season, but this team has, for the longest time, had incredible depth in the middle. That seems to have finally eroded. The way both Newcombe and Day were able to stand in tackles and deliver the footy to their running teammates exposed a soft underbelly in the GWS midfield, and I am afraid that, as gutsy as the team was to fight back in this one, they simply don’t have the big, strong bodies in the middle to stop a team like the Hawks.
This is a boon for Hawthorn, as they were torn apart in the middle in last season’s finals, and they are now presenting as a more balanced, and more dangerous cohort.
The real test for this mob comes against the higher-quality midfields.
2 – WILL DAY MUST STAY HEALTHY
Jai Newcombe was the story in the midfield, as he has been for the majority of the season, but there is just something about the way Will Day wins the footy, and refuses to be brought down in a tackle, that makes him an absolute pleasure to watch.
Quick confession – I am writing this early on Saturday morning, as I packed it in last night and went to bed, and in the cold light of day – actually the sun is just coming up – it becomes apparent that if Newcombe is playing Batman, then Day is going to be his Robin.
Nah, screw that – you can have two Batmen.
The other week, I watched Mac Andrew attacking the footy. He cops a lot of grief, but as a footballer, he is beautiful to watch. I called him a beautiful footballer.
Day is the midfield equivalent to him.
Clean hands, good decision-making, powerful from stoppage, and great penetration on his kicks… there is a fair bit of Bont about the way Day plays his footy. And in the modern game, that is close to the ultimate compliment for a midfielder.
He remains one of those players that can do with 25 touches what others do with 35 – a bang for buck midfielder who plays the inside/outside game perfectly. Five of his eight clearances came in the centre in this game, as he imposed his will on the contest and torched the lacklustre GWS mids.
If he stays healthy, he changes the entire make up of the Hawthorn midfield.
Last year, everyone was banging on about how Hawthorn needed to get their mitts on Zach Merrett. I was one of the few saying they didn’t need him. They needed someone who can work the inside as well as the outside, and for all his positives, Merrett does not do that. I was much more interested in whether Will Day could get his body right and be that player for Hawthorn.
The Hawks don’t need Merrett – they never did. They needed Will Day – this version of Will Day. And if they continue to get it, there is nothing stopping them from being a deep September team again.
3 – CAN I TELL YOU A SECRET?
Shhhh, don’t tell anyone, okay? I already know this, so I didn’t learn it, but I am willing to share it with you.
Massimo D’Ambrosio is the best wingman in the game this season.
All the talk has been about Harvey Thomas, and his ascension at the Giants, but if you want to see a player own his wing, go back and have a look at the way Mass goes to work in this game.
In years passed, D’Ambrosio has been playing a more defensive role on the wing, but whether this is indicative of increased confidence, or perhaps he has been instructed to take the game on more, he has now been a more attacking wingman in 2026.
This year, he is at 3.9 inside 50s power game, whilst his rebounds have dropped to 1.4.
Last season, he was at 2.7 and 2.1.
This is a marked change in game style for Massimo and you won’t read about it anywhere but here, because we’re the only ones that give a damn about the role the wingmen play.
His fingerprints were all over this win.
I didn’t publish the Robert Flower Wingman of the Year update this week, as the byes tend to screw with it, but coming in, D’Ambrosio and Thomas were ranked first and second, respectively.
Mass put more distance between the two in this game. No shade intended at Thomas – he works his arse off, but he was just beaten in this game, and there is no shame in that.
With 21 disposals, five tackles, five inside 50s, and beating his direct opponent, Massimo played a wonderful game for the Hawks, and his courage to compete for the footy in the air was highlighted on a couple of occasions.
Keep an eye out for the updated Robert Flower Award column this week – no prizes for guessing who’ll be number one.
4 – MABIOR CHOL NEEDS TO BE CAREFUL
He might get away with this – nobody got hurt. However, Mabs is making a habit out of pushing players, albeit subtlely, into contests, and it is not going to end well for him.
A big part of his game is clearing room around him, as he has developed into an above-average forward target, but early in this game, he pushed Sam Taylor into oncoming traffic and there was not a word uttered about it from the “expert” commentary that Fox Footy provides.
Not a peep.
A reminder – Taylor Walker was given a week very recently for exactly the same thing, and if the AFL are going to be serious about looking after getting this action out of the game, then they need to be consistent.
I am not the hanging judge, here – not at all – and if I had my way, there’d likely be more big collisions in the game, because I personally like that stuff. However, the league has decided that it doesn’t like it as much as I do, and have put in place rules to prevent these instances.
Enforcing them when they feel like it creates distrust in the product and its integrity. As such, I hope that Mabs is at least looked at for the action. As nobody was hurt (one of the GWS players was left holding his ribs, from memory?), they’ll probably do a Frank Drebin, and tell everyone there is nothing to see here, but anyone else who is pinged for this action going forward should save a copy of his incident and use it as a defence if they get suspended.
5 – TOBY IS GETTING VERY FRUSTRATED
Is it fair to say that Toby Greene is not having the impact he would like to in 2026?
It seems that way, as even though he is trying his heart out – he always does – his team has failed to get anywhere near the standard required to contend, and as Greene finds himself in the twilight of a wonderful career, he can see it all slipping away.\And it is pissing him off.
He had a couple of moments in this game where that fine line he walks got very thin, and Toby looked as though he might topple over into an area that would see him compete with Zak Butters in the race for most fines paid, or worse, suspended.
A couple of elbows as he was being retrained, a whack to the back of Loloyd Meek’s bonce in a marking contest… he looked like a man that was fed up with things not going his way.
Greene actually made a bit of a difference when he moved into the middle in the last quarter, winning clearances and pumping the footy forward for the Giants, but it was almost as though he was trying to find avenues when all that was apparent were road blocks.
And that leads me to the big question about Toby – will he or won’t he leave the club after this season? Will he chase a flag at Geelong? Or will he remain loyal to the club that drafted him?
I am not sure there is a right answer, here.
I would LOVE to see Greene continue as a Giant. To me, he is the GWS Giants, and whilst he could slot in and trudge around alongside Jezza Cameron for a year or two, nothing is ever guaranteed, and I could see him regretting the decision unless the Cats win a flag.
How much does his legacy at GWS matter to him? He may not ever lead the club to glory, but he can be a big part in laying the foundation with the young blokes who will. And with Tom Green returning next year, Cadman getting better, and the back six staying healthy… who knows? Maybe the Giants are not as far away as people think?
Stay a Giant, Toby – it is who you are.
6 – LEEK ALEER IS NOT A RUCKMAN
I’ve seen enough now, and genuinely believe that Aleer needs to move back into defence.
The Giants are missing Jack Buckley and Jayden Laverde, and instead of plugging that hole, they leaned heavily on Sam Taylor being… well, Sam Taylor, and allowed Aleer to be beaten continually in the ruck.
As the Hawks’ talls started to mark the footy in the third quarter, I found myself scanning the field to find where Aleer was stationed. It was usually a kick behind the footy, which meant that he was of little impact where he arguably plays his best footy.
He attended 49 ruck contests – the most for the Giants – and won eight of them.
I like Adam Kingsley, and I think he is a good coach, but I was sitting there waiting for the move that would put Aleer into defence to give the Giants an aerial advantage, and instead, I watched him do something close to nothing over the course of the game.
I am not blaming Aleer – he is playing the hand he is being dealt. However, if he is not contributing in a role, it is incumbent on the coaching staff to address it.
Yes, he is very athletic, and against a team who use an inexperienced second ruck option, he could be very effective in the role but the Hawks had two genuine first rucks playing, and they were simply not bothered with Aleer, particularly around the ground where they continually dismissed him at stoppages or throw ins.
In that third quarter, I found myself thinking how much GWS missed Jack Buckley – they have not had a run of games where Buckley, Taylor, and Idun have been able to combine forces – but rather than replace Buckley’s presence with a big body like Aleer, they opted to use Himmelberg as a tall defender, and even after years in the role, I am still not sold on him playing that position. He seems like a dividing wall you use to decorate the house, when what the Giants need is a weight-bearing wall to hold everything together.
Usually, I love the GWS defence, particularly with Laverde slotting in so beautifully this season, but 2026 has not been kind to them, and by playing Aleer in a ruck role he was clearly not suited to in this game, was a mistake.
7 – IF YOU BLINK, YOU’RE DEAD
I was looking forward to seeing just how Joe Fonti matched up against Nick Watson, and in the first quarter, he held his own. Not that he was perfect, as he did seem quite rushed with his possessions (the threat of a lurking Watson does that), but he was backing himself, and winning the footy.
Joe had four touches, laid three tackles, and importantly, held Watson to just a behind.
I don’t know if Fonti got a little too comfortable, or Watson is just too damn elusive, but as the second quarter got going, the leg rope he had on Watson started to get a little longer.
And that does not end well.
Three goals in the second quarter made a mockery of the GWS defensive efforts on The Wizard, as his pace at the contest, and ability to find space in traffic saw him out and snagging goals with his pace. He sliced through gaps others didn’t even realise existed, as he became the catalyst for the Hawthorn surge that pushed them out to their match-winning lead.
If you were to make a rule for playing on Watson, what would it be?
Perhaps never allowing him to get goal side of you would be a good place to start?
This is not entirely on Fonti – I dig what he is putting together in defence for the Giants – but rather, this is a whole-of-team job. When someone lays a block to free Watson up, the additional players need to block the little fella’s run at the footy. Permitting him a clean run in any way is a huge mistake, and the Giants were made to pay full toll in this one.
The concern is that Watson, who snagged his 100th career goal, and moved to within three of the Coleman lead, pulled up sore on a chase of Fonti, and spent the second half nursing a tight hamstring. He will be a watch for the Hawks this week, as they prepare for a date with the Dees next Saturday. At the moment, Watson is a difference-maker, and he genuinely strikes me as a player who can dictate whether the Hawks win or lose with just ten minutes of footy.
That’s what he played in this one – ten minutes of breakneck speed footy that blew the doors off the game, and put the Hawks in the driver’s seat.
He is as important to this club as any forward is to any in the league.
8 – I’VE SEEN THE FUTURE AND IT WILL BE
Earlier this year, there was a lot of chatter about which player was going to take the next step and grasp their opportunity in the Hawthorn midfield.
Some were on the Connor Macdonald bandwagon, and he had some nice moments early in the season. Others liked the idea of Josh Ward becoming more prominent, and we’ve seen that to an extent, as well.
But for me, it was always going to be Cam Mackenzie that made the next step, and we saw evidence of that progression in this game, as he collected 25 touches and, unlike so many mids in the AFL, actually did damage!
Mackenzie is starting to feel comfortable being creative with the footy in his hands, and that can only be a positive for the hawks. I am not offering a revelation here, as there have been obvious comparisons made over his career, but the way he elevates the footy as he runs, ready to dispose of it as soon as an option presents… Sam Mitchell’s fingerprints are all over his game.
With 27 touches, 11 score involvements including a snag of his own and two direct goal assists, and seven clearances, he was the perfect rotational mid to work alongside Newcombe and Day, as the Hawks tore the Giants to shreds in the middle.
The Hawks’ on-ball contingent is looking very solid at the moment, and whilst I was very sceptical of how they’d perform in 2026, this group is now exceeding my expectations. Mackenzie’s rise has been a big part of that.
He IS the young player making the next step, and as he continues to improve, the Hawks are looking more of a September threat.
ONE QUICKIE
That fifty metre penalty against Finn Callaghan for not running through the interchange gates was… well, it was correct.
But being correct, and being “right” feel like two very different things.
The Hawks have been stung by this rule in the past – I have vivid memories of the ball being taken off Cyril Rioli in a game as he was lining up for goal, because of something similar. I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now.
We are so pedantic when it comes to these little things, but the bigger picture issues seem to be permitted to roll on without correction. It just strikes me as disproportionate in terms of crime/penalty for something so insignificant, and the AFL would be wise to heed this advice.
Nobody comes to the footy to see technical 50-metre penalties paid. It sucks the atmosphere out of the game, and with a second 50 paid going the other way for… something, a few minutes later, you could almost feel the oxygen being sucked out of the crowd, at that stage.
50-metre penalties increase scoring – it is why the league likes them. But they are not a highlight of the game, and I don’t like seeing them for very minor indiscretions.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In the end, it was a hard-fought win for the Hawks. A lot of credit has to go to the Giants – they would simply not lay down, and there was a moment or two where it seemed as though a run of luck (a big part of any team’s success) could have seen them pinch this game.
However, we are looking at a team in Hawthorn, that is absolutely a win-now prospect. They have just about everything in place for a serious tilt this year, and whilst injury can derail a season on any given weekend, a clean run from here could see this club enter September with the wind at their backs.
As for the Giants… they’re not far off. I guess we now start asking what they do going forward?
Is Cadman legitimately ready to be the number one man inside 50? Do they persist with Stringer (who looks less fit now than he did at the start of the season… again), or do they start to put games into kids and build the next generation?
It must be tough for Adam Kingsley, who evidently sees so much in this group – as do I – only for the team to fall short so often.
Then again, some good teams are going to fall to the Hawks this season. They’re contenders, and there is a very good reason for that.
Next week, the Hawks get the Dees, whilst GWS will have to cause the upset of the year to stay in touch with the wildcard race, as they face the Dockers.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
Like this content? You could buy me a coffee – I do like coffee, but there is no guarantee I won’t use it to buy a doughnut… I like them more. And I am not brought to you by Sportsbet or Ladbrokes… or Bet365, or any of them.
