The stakes weren’t as high as they used to be but Hawthorn continued their winning streak against Fremantle, with the Hawks having a 52-point victory on Saturday night.
When these 2013 Grand Final opponents last met at Domain Stadium a spot in the ‘15 season-decider was up for grabs.
This time the Hawks and Freo were ‘only’ fighting to keep their slim finals hopes alive, and it was the visitors who fought to a 15.10 (100) to 7.6 (48) triumph.
It was Hawthorn’s 10th win over Fremantle from the past 11 clashes, and rubbing salt into the wounds was an apparent knee injury suffered by Michael Walters two minutes into in the final term.
As Walters pulled up short of a marking contest on the wing and hobbled to the bench, Jack Gunston (35 disposals, eight marks) iced the game with a long-range goal to extend the Hawks’ lead to 34 points.
A four-goal opening quarter immediately put Freo on the back foot and silenced the 30,818-strong crowd.
The Hawks dominated possession in the opening term (120-96) and controlled the ball well.
Late goals to returning spearhead Cam McCarthy and hard-working forward Shane Kersten (two goals) gave Freo some momentum heading into the first break 15 points adrift.
Fremantle turned the momentum their way in the second and third quarters but Hawthorn were too good on the day.
Triple-premiership former Hawks wingman Bradley Hill (25) was Freo’s best and was emotional post-match embracing his ex-teammates and Clarkson.
Young gun Connor Blakely tried hard in defence alongside Joel Hamling (21) and Lachie Weller (22), while Lachie Neale (27) and Stephen Hill (21) didn’t lower their colours.
But they couldn’t prevent the rebuilding Freo from a seventh loss from their past eight games.
“We felt like we regressed tonight,” coach Ross Lyon said.
“The start was disappointing for all concerned.
“We’ve been starting over the last few weeks a lot better and our form’s been really consistent for four weeks.
“We’ve been in tight, tough games and given ourselves plenty of opportunities, defending really well and our clearance work has been strong.
“We came here really optimistic.”
FREMANTLE 2.0 3.4 5.5 7.6 (48)
HAWTHORN 4.3 6.6 9.9 15.10 (100)
GOALS
Fremantle: Kersten 2, McCarthy 2, Fyfe, Nyhuis, Ballantyne
Hawthorn: Breust 2, Roughead 2, Henderson 2, Burgoyne 2, Smith, Gunston, Schoenmakers, Hartung, O’Brien, McEvoy, Howe
BEST
Fremantle: B.Hill, Fyfe, Neale, Blakely, Logue, Hamling
Hawthorn: Gunston, Mitchell, Shiels, Breust, Howe, Roughead, Hodge, Sicily
INJURIES
Fremantle: Walters (leg)
Hawthorn: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Margetts, Ryan, Dalgleish
Official crowd: 30,818 at Domain Stadium
