As one of the leading kicking teams in the AFL this season, Hawthorn showed their dominance by foot against Fremantle at Optus Stadium on Sunday, according to defender Alex Pearce.
After 19 rounds, Hawthorn are ranked second for effective kicks and their class showed in a 59-point win.
Pearce said Fremantle struggled to get the ball off their opponents as the Hawks kicked freely with a round-high 243 kicks.
Hawthorn’s 112 marks also led all AFL teams in round 19 while Fremantle’s 28 spoils was the lowest of the round.
Conversely, Fremantle often wasted their opportunities by foot with a kicking efficiency of 53.3 per cent compared to Hawthorn’s 68.7 per cent.
Fremantle’s kicking efficiency dropped to 44.7 per cent in a goalless second quarter as Hawthorn pulled away.
“They kicked the ball around a fair bit and we couldn’t take the kicks off them,” Pearce told 6PR post-game.
“We couldn’t keep possession of the ball. They were a well-drilled, experienced side and that showed today.”
Fremantle were almost always on the back foot throughout the contest with Hawthorn winning the centre clearances 16-7.
“We got beaten out of the middle pretty convincingly,” Pearce said.
“Our ruckman got their hands on the ball but there wasn’t much connection with our mids and we didn’t get it back off them.”
Fremantle fielded the youngest team of the round while Hawthorn had the oldest – more than three years older than Freo on average.
Pearce said that Fremantle will continue work on building their toughness and competing.
“If you want to be good in this competition you have to be a hard and tough team,” Pearce said.
“Richmond have shown that over the last couple of years and it’s something we’ve acknowledged and something we’ve got to keep building.
“We are a young team and we have a lot of improvement in us but there is no doubt we have to be a bit tougher and harder.”
