Presenting all you need to know about Hawthorn – the Magpies’ round 15 opponents – ahead of their clash at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.

Recent form

After going down to Port Adelaide and Gold Coast before their bye, against all odds, the Hawks triumphed the ladder-leading Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval last Thursday night.

Sitting 16^th on the ladder – with the same amount of wins (five) as the Pies – the Hawks will come into Sunday’s rematch off a 10-day break and full of confidence.

Down at half time against the Crows, the Hawks rallied on the road to stun the South Australian crowd and claim a 14-point victory.

Former Crow Ricky Henderson was best afield in his 100^th match, recording 30 disposals, eight marks and two goals.

He was joined by Tom Mitchell (38 disposals), Shaun Burgoyne (26 disposals, six tackles, two goals) and youngster Ryan Burton (21 disposals, two goals) in leading the Hawks to a stirring victory.



The Hawks celebrate as the siren sounds on their 14-point victory over the Crows. Image: AFL Photos.

Words from the coach

“It was just about persevering,” Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said after his side’s win at Adelaide Oval.

“I thought we played terrifically well whole game, but particularly in the last quarter, when the game was on the line.

“Considering the opposition, the hostile crowd, we were able to hang in the contest and drive the ball forward and give ourselves a chance to win.”

Sitting only two wins outside of the eight, Clarkson said his focus would remain on developing the future of the club as the second half of the season unfolds.

“It’s just week by week. We’ve got ore important things to worry about (than finals) in terms of the process of sticking to the basics of the game.”

“Those things (finals) will look after themselves. If we play well enough, who knows what will happen, but right now it’s just about doing the basics well and seeing how these young guys continue to consolidate their spots in the side.



The four-time premiership coach address his players earlier this season. Image: AFL Photos.

Last time we met

Down 43 points at the long break, there wouldn’t have been many of the 54,000 crowd at the MCG that were giving Collingwood much chance of overcoming the Hawks in round nine.

But with a captain like Scott Pendlebury (36 disposals, nine tackles, one goal) and a supporting cast of Adam Treloar (34 disposals, seven tackles, one goal), Jeremy Howe (25 disposals, 13 marks) and Taylor Adams (33 disposals, eight marks), the Magpies pulled off a stunning comeback to defeat the Hawks by 18 points and secure their third win of the season.

In what was his first victory over the Hawks since taking over as coach, Nathan Buckley credited his players’ resilient performance.

“It was an excellent response to a scoreboard that looked unfavourable and the flow of the game was clearly going well against us so to be able to dig deep, arrest the slide in the second quarter and then come back hard in the second half showed a lot of character and grit.”



Pendlebury inspired his side to a comeback victory over the Hawks in round nine. Image: AFL Photos.

Keep an eye on

The Hawks have been focusing on developing their list this season, and they’ve found a player in 20-year-old Ryan Burton.

He’s only 16 games into his AFL career, but the young defender is already making an impression around the league.

With a Rising Star nomination in round two, Burton could become the club’s first winner since Sam Mitchell did so 14 years ago.

He’s averaging 21 disposals on the season, with his best performance coming last week against the Crows where he amassed 26 touches and kicked two crucial goals in the third quarter.



The young Hawk is firming as a favourite for the 2017 Rising Star Award. Image: AFL Photos.

Injury list

The Hawks returned to Melbourne unscathed on the injury front after picking up the four points in Adelaide.

However, the club’s medical room still requires attention, with Josh Gibson (groin), Jaegar O’Meara (knee), Cyril Rioli (knee) and James Frawley (toe) having all missed the past few matches.

Youngsters Kieran Lovell (shoulder) and Jonathon O’Rourke (hamstring) also remain sidelined.

In the mix

Despite the injury list, there’s good news coming out of Hawthorn with veteran defender Ben Stratton expected to return this week against Collingwood.

The three-time premiership Hawk has missed the past five matches with a bruised knee.

"He's going really well," Hawthorn’s GM-Football Operations Jason Burt told the club’s website.

"He's had three or four weeks of really strong training to get back to full fitness, so he's available and it's up to our coaches to see whether Ben will return to the side."

Stratton is set to make his return from injury against the Pies on Sunday. Image: AFL Photos.