Round 10 – Narrm v Hawthorn: Dominant Dees destroy hapless Hawks

Round 10 (Sir Doug Nicholls Round)

Narrm v Hawthorn

4.15pm, Saturday 16 May 2026

MCG

In some games, the biggest difference between the sides is intent and execution. That was the case on Saturday as Steven King’s Narrm continued their incredible start to the season, moving to seven and three as they stunned the Hawks in front of 68,000 on a picturesque Melbourne afternoon at the MCG.

In a game billed by broadcasters as the ‘Match of the Round’, Melbourne, playing as Narrm, the city’s traditional name in the Woiwurrung language, hosted the third-place Hawks as the competition celebrated Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

The namesake of the round, Sir Doug Nicholls, was a Yorta Yorta man born on the Cummeragunja Mission who played fifty-four games for Fitzroy in the VFL, becoming the first Indigenous player to be selected for the Victorian Interstate team. After football, Nicholls became a pastor and was an instrumental figure in the Indigenous rights movement, becoming the first Aboriginal Australian to be knighted and the first to hold vice-regal office when he was appointed Governor of South Australia.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the celebration, which now runs for two weeks. Clubs wear jerseys designed by First Nations artists and players, begin with a smoking ceremony, and in recent years, select teams have adopted traditional placenames for the duration of the round.

Narrm started the game hot, stifling Hawthorn’s ball movement and taking advantage of the absence of Tom Barrass. Harrison Petty was on fire, rising over Josh Weddle to pluck a mark and kick his side’s first before crumbing his second minutes later. The Hawks eased into the quarter and equalised the scoreboard through Mitch Lewis and Dylan Moore, with the latter being walked to the goal line after Ed Langdon was caught holding the ball and adjudged to have argued with the umpire by pointing to the scoreboard. Both sides goaled again with the first term ending in a stalemate, with the teams locked at twenty-one apiece.

The Demons were determined in defence, restricting Hawthorn’s efficiency inside fifty, with Dan Turner and Jake Lever working well in tandem to hold the Hawks’ talls. Narrm’s defenders were helped by the Hawks’ inability to execute in their attacking half. Lewis elected to snap from forty, failing to make the distance, and Max Ramsden was unable to outwork Turner in efforts that were emblematic of the lack of effort and poor decision-making that would prove to be the team’s downfall.

While Hawthorn were sloppy, Narrm were superb, with the ball living in their forward half for most of the term. Petty kicked his third, and Kysiah Pickett, although affected by a Finn Maginness tag, found a way to make an impact. The Hawks were under siege, and despite Karl Amon and Jarman Impey looking solid as per usual, the team failed to play the fast-flowing style that’s come to define Sam Mitchell’s coaching.

In what was generally a frustrating first half, some young Hawks stood up, with Bodie Ryan looking calm and composed in just his second game and Cam Mackenzie continuing his impressive 2026 form.

The half finished with two spectacular goals, the first of which came from Josh Weddle, who ran the length of the wing, leaving Latrelle Pickett in his wake before getting the ball back and nailing a drop punt from outside fifty on the boundary. Unperturbed, the Demons responded quickly, with Harvey Langford taking a good grab before nailing a snap on the stroke of half-time to give his side a one-goal lead.

Melbourne’s midfield owned the third term, with Max Gawn helping his team dominate centre clearance either with inch-perfect taps or just by grabbing the ball out of the ruck himself. Narrm kicked three goals in a row and looked as though they would run away with the game then and there before Lewis and Harry Morrison steadied the ship for the Hawks. This stability was just an illusion as Melbourne continued to surge. Bailey Fritsch nailed a left-foot bomb from a tight angle on the paint of fifty, and Matthew Jefferson and Langford cancelled out goals to milestone man Connor Macdonald and Nick Watson to see the Dees take a twenty-point lead into the final term.

Though there was still plenty of time left, the proverbial nail in the coffin came just twenty-one seconds into the last as Gawn won the clearance and sent Melbourne forward. The ball made its way to Kade Chandler, who launched from outside fifty, with Petty doing just enough to ensure Josh Battle was powerless to stop the kick bouncing perfectly through the big sticks.

The Hawks tried to fight back, but time after time, poor decisions and execution let them down. Switches that would have freed up space were ignored, hospital handballs sold teammates into pressure or missed their targets altogether, and the midfield was simply unable to win a clearance when it mattered.

The quarter of Demon dominance was interrupted by a Moore-led late fightback, but it was too little, too late as the Hawks failed to win for the third game in a row, this time going down by thirty-nine points.

They’ll turn their attention to a prime-time, must-win, Thursday night clash with the Kuwarna Crows in Tasmania. Hawthorn will be desperate to end a rotten run of form where a combination of poor decision-making, poor execution, and an inability to run out games has seen them pick up just two points from a possible twelve. It won’t be easy, though, with the Crows fresh off a statement win where they played their best footy of the year, dismantling North Melbourne.

Selection-wise, it doesn’t appear there will be any forced changes, but expect several from Mitchell, who will be ropeable about his team’s performance. Conor Nash, Jack Gunston, and Mabior Chol will be in the frame to return, with the structure the latter provides in the forward half sorely missed in recent weeks. The extent of Jack Scrimshaw’s injury is still unknown, but if fit, he will also be strongly considered for a return, given the Crows’ forward half strength.

Guessing who’ll make way is a little harder. Calsher Dear was well held by Turner and Lever, and Ramsden was once again quiet. He wasn’t the only one who looked slightly below the level, with highly rated inclusion Henry Hustwaite also leaving plenty to be desired, unable to show the same silky skills that he’s dominated with in the VFL. Maginness did a decent job on Pickett, but it didn’t really make a difference, and he, alongside fellow inclusion Harry Morrison, who also did some nice things, had a few moments that left Hawks supporters reeling and are not guaranteed to make the trip to Tasmania.

After earning their ‘contenders’ label earlier in the season, some serious questions are being asked of the Hawks, and if they want to show they can mix it with the best come September, games like this one against Kuwarna are must-wins. Mitchell spoke about the lack of effort in his presser, so expect the Hawks to come out with a point to prove in what should be a brilliant game of Thursday night football.

NARRM 3.3 6.6 12.8 18.12 (120)
HAWTHORN 3.3 5.6 9.6 12.9 (81)

GOALS
Narrm: Petty 3, Langford 2, Jefferson 2, van Rooyen 2, K.Pickett 2, Sharp 2, Fritsch 2, Laurie, Langdon, Chandler
Hawthorn: Watson 3, Lewis 2, Moore 2, Weddle, Ramsden, Morrison, Macdonald, D’Ambrosio

BEST
Narrm: Sparrow, Gawn, Steele, Langford, Turner, Bowey
Hawthorn: Impey, Amon, Moore, Sicily, Lewis

INJURIES
Narrm: Nil
Hawthorn: Nil

Crowd: 68,557 at the MCG