Hawthorn 17.9 (111) d Essendon 12.13 (85)
Sam Mitchell’s box-office Hollywood Hawks are the early March champions.
This is not intended as a slight. Last year, the Hawks didn’t open their account until the third weekend of April, which cost them a decent spot on the grid in September. They aren’t making the same mistake twice.
In their first game on home soil this year, the Hawks gave their proud, paid-up and passionate a spectacular opening act.
The show fizzled out a bit after the intermission but by the curtain call a large majority of the 80,735 were belting out “the mighty fighting Hawks” with gusto in appreciation of a 26-point win over the old enemy, Essendon.
There was a toll for both sides. Reliable defender Jack Scrimshaw was concussed after a clash of heads with teammate Josh Battle, ruling him out of Thursday night’s game against Carlton. But he may not have played anyway, after striking Jordan Ridley high with his left arm in an attempted tackle.
Ridley was later ruled out with concussion, leaving the Dons without their important, but injury-prone, defender for next weekend’s game against Adelaide.
Their best forward, Kyle Langford, is likely to be out for longer after pulling up abruptly with what appeared to be a hamstring injury in the third quarter while picking up a ball off his laces that should have been hitting him lace-out instead.
Scans on Saturday will reveal the full cost, but there was an immediate price. From the same passage of play, the Hawks wheeled the ball to the other end for the first of back-to-back goals to Dylan Moore, which snuffed out one of the Bombers’ brief challenges.