Round 13
Hawthorn v Western Bulldogs
7:40pm, Friday 5th June 2026
MCG
The Bulldogs have snapped their five-match losing streak against Hawthorn, running over the top of the Hawks in a fiery game that truly was a tale of two halves. The Dogs played a second half of footy that the Hawks just couldn’t match, booting eight goals to one to overcome a twenty-seven point deficit at the main break and win by a straight kick.
In a strange opening term, the Hawks looked the better side, but failed to make any meaningful inroads on the scoreboard. Indeed, it was the Bulldogs who kicked the first, goaling courtesy of a high tackle on Bailey Dale. The Hawks replied quickly with Nick Watson finding space and kicking off a stellar opening half, booting the first of his three for the night.
Hawthorn controlled the clearances, with Massimo D’Ambrosio and Will Day getting plenty of ball through the middle. Ultimately, though, the difference was the co-captains, with Jai Newcombe and James Sicily racking up sixteen and twenty-three first-half touches respectively.
This helped the Hawks break away from the Dogs, kicking four goals in eight minutes to double their score heading into the main change. Though the Hardwick experiment didn’t work for a third week, Hawthorn covered Jack Gunston’s absence well, with Mitch Lewis providing a target despite being hampered by an ankle injury. He was joined by Mabior Chol, who played out of his skin in the first half, dominating the contest and kicking three.
Then there was the Wizard. Watson had a phenomenal first half, using his electric pace to kick three and playing with a level of confidence bordering on arrogance that’s come to define his game. The Bulldogs played into this, targeting Watson, who, at first, responded emphatically, hurting the Dogs on the scoreboard, and refusing to let any taunt go unpunished. But this all changed when, after a half of constant clashes, the Wizard threw down the gauntlet, challenging his opponent, Michael Sellwood, to “walk the walk” instead of just talking the talk.
These comments lit a fire under Sellwood, and when the second half kicked off, he and his teammates looked like a completely different side. The Dogs seized control of the midfield battle, kicking the first three goals of the third, bringing the margin back to ten points.
The Hawks eventually woke up, managing a sustained period inside their forward fifty, which Chol was eventually able to capitalise on to kick his third. Unfortunately for Hawthorn, this goal would end up being their last, and though both teams managed the same number of scoring shots for the rest of the quarter, the Hawks saw their lead whittled down to just eight points heading into the final term.
The writing was on the wall early. From the second Lloyd Meek, right after drawing one of the loudest cheers of the night for catching Sellwood holding the ball, miskicked from a slight angle twenty-five out, Hawks fans knew exactly what was going to happen.
In a season marred by constant inaccuracy, after escaping from the Collingwood game with a draw, Hawthorn’s goalkicking woes finally cost them all four points. They kicked one goal eleven in the second half, making mistake after mistake and looking flat out of ideas.
The Dogs, in contrast, were superb. They riled the Hawks up, distracting them from the contest and punishing them on the scoreboard. Their superstars stood up, with Tim English, Marcus Bontempelli, and Aaron Naughton all kicking majors in the last to force the Hawks to score twice with time running out.
Hawthorn had their opportunities, but just couldn’t goal, with a super effort from Nick Coffield ending any chance of late heroics and catapulting his side into the top six.
Unfortunately, the instant Friday night classic was marred by yet another incident of racism, with a series of vile insults directed at Hawks spearhead Mabior Chol after the game.
The Hawks now have a bye and will return after two weeks off, heading up to Gold Coast to face the SUNS.
Assuming they overcome the injuries they suffered in the Fremantle game, the Hawks should be bolstered by the return of veterans Tom Barrass and Jack Gunston. Conor Nash should also be straight back in, with a neck complaint having kept him out of action for a fortnight. A throng of others will be keen to join them, with Will McCabe, Matt Hill, Ollie Greeves, and Sam Butler all knocking on the door.
Barring injuries, Bodie Ryan, Bailey Macdonald, and Flynn Perez appear the most likely to make way for the returning keys, but Sam Mitchell has shown a fair bit of unpredictability at selection, so anything’s possible. Meek has looked really poor at times this year, and a week in the VFL could do his confidence a world of good. Whether a heavyweight clash against the SUNS is the time to rest him is yet to be seen, but the lack of strong depth options in the ruck department indicates that the big man should retain his spot.
Though they brushed the SUNS aside in Launceston earlier in the season, this will be a much harder ask, with beating Gold Coast on their home deck an entirely different challenge. The Hawks will have to shut down the SUNS’ keys around the ground because, if John Noble, Ben King, and Christian Petracca get going, good luck catching them. Friday night lights on the Gold Coast are rare, and with what looks to be a great clash, this is shaping up to be a seriously good night of football.
HAWTHORN 2.2 8.6 9.12 9.17 (71)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 2.0 4.3 9.4 12.5 (77)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Watson 3, Chol 3, C.Macdonald, Reeves, Day
Western Bulldogs: Croft 3, Bontempelli 2, Dale, Jones, West, Treloar, Lewis, English, Naughton
BEST
Hawthorn: Newcombe, Watson, Day, D’Ambrosio, Chol
Western Bulldogs: Richards, Bontempelli, English, Sanders, Dale, Croft
INJURIES
Hawthorn: Nil
Western Bulldogs: McNeil (concussion)
Crowd: 59,556
Read other Round 13 match reports HERE
Read more from Louie Cina HERE
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