Hawthorn is on the verge of a premiership three-peat after dispatching of a brave Fremantle by 27 points in Friday night's preliminary final at Domain Stadium.
The Hawks' 15.4 (94) to 10.7 (67) win means they will contest their fourth straight Grand Final next Saturday, against the winner of Saturday night's West Coast-North Melbourne prelim.
There was plenty of drama in the hotly contested final, played in front of a parochial and amplified West Australian crowd.
Divisive umpiring calls, persistent bouts of wrestling, two potentially dangerous fan incidents where Isaac Smith and later Luke Breust got up close and personal with Fremantle fans, and a one-legged but brave Nat Fyfe were all subplots of the entertaining bout.
However the Hawks weren't headed after they hit the front at the 18-minute mark of the first quarter and at one stage were 28 points clear, but the Fremantle Dockers made several spirited charges after kicking the game's first two goals.
They moved within 11 points early in the fourth but were burnt by missed opportunities from Michael Barlow and Michael Walters, before Tom Sheridan made a horrendous error at half-back.
Sheridan dropped an uncontested mark on the devensive 50 only for Cyril Rioli to crumb the ball and kick his second of three goals.
It moved the Hawks 15 points clear and kicked off a run of four majors that sealed the game.
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said the Fremantle Dockers only had themselves to blame for costly undisciplined acts.
"I think you acknowledge in the end that they got it done, the Hawks, acknowledge that they’re chasing three and they're a pretty good outfit," Lyon said.
I've made no decision: Pavlich
"You can't shootout against them. Obviously we're not a shootout team and we'd like to improve all aspects of our game... but you can't make those sort of errors off the ball. I'm more concerned with discipline off the ball.
"At the end of the day our skill and decision in our (defensive) 50 (cost us). Tommy Sheridan's sitting there really upset. That's not the reason we lost, but obviously it was a critical moment."
Hawks midfielders Sam Mitchell and Luke Hodge were the main influences behind the victory, while Josh Gibson, Taylor Duryea and Ben Stratton were key in defence.
After a week where Freo decided against recalling Ryan Crowley for his first game in a year, his usual opponent in Mitchell racked up 35 possessions.
For Fremantle, Lee Spurr did all he could in defence while David Mundy and Lachie Neale were consistent contributors in the midfield, but the story of their side was the performance of Fyfe.
The Brownlow Medal favourite suffered a nasty knock to his injured lower left leg in the first contest he was involved in after starting the game on the bench.
He was heavily rotated but had just two touches for the quarter, and ran with a heavy limp before being iced at the first change.
However, champions aren't kept down for long and by the main break, he had ignited for 13 disposals and five clearances.
Talking Points from Prelim
After the main break, he did some nice things but didn't have a consistent impact before finishing with 24 disposals and nine clearances.
Freo captain Matthew Pavlich finished on the bench after suffering a corked leg after a relatively quiet one-goal performance against James Frawley, in what could be his last at AFL level.
There wasn't an announcement after the game about his intentions, but both he and veteran defender Luke McPharlin had emotional moments with their families on the ground well after the siren.
McPharlin didn't play because of his troublesome calf and appeared to be quietly saying goodbye to Subiaco after everyone had left the field.
However, Lyon said he "had not had one conversation" with either of them about their immediate futures.
And for Lyon himself, he said he "had to get better" with the chance to clinch his elusive premiership now having to wait at least another 12 months.
FREMANTLE 2.1 4.4 8.4 10.7 (67)
HAWTHORN 5.2 7.2 11.3 15.4 (94)
GOALS
Fremantle: Walters 3, Griffin 2, Hill, Pavlich, Ballantyne, Barlow, Mayne
Hawthorn: Rioli 3, Schoenmakers 2, Suckling 2, Roughead 2, Smith, Hale, Breust, Hill, McEvoy, Duryea
BEST
Fremantle: Spurr, Ibbotson, Mundy, Walters, Griffin, Fyfe
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Hodge, Gibson, Duryea, Rioli, Stratton, Suckling
INJURIES
Fremantle: Matthew Pavlich (corked leg)
Hawthorn: Taylor Duryea (shoulder), Luke Hodge (leg)
SUBSTITUTES
Fremantle: Nick Suban replaced Matt Taberner at three-quarter time
Hawthorn: Billy Hartung replaced David Hale in the fourth quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Dalgleish, Stevic, Rosebury
Official crowd: TBC at Domain Stadium
