JARRYD Roughead was reported for tripping, but Hawthorn otherwise banked a reasonably uneventful 50-point win over Melbourne on Saturday.
The Hawks warmed up for a challenging run to the finals by downing the Demons 17.13 (115) to 9.11 (65) at the MCG.
Inspirational captain Luke Hodge was substituted off at three-quarter time after a bruising collision with Melbourne ruckman Mark Jamar, while Jordan Lewis continued his sensational year to be best on ground.
Hodge punched the ground after copping an accidental knee to his side in a third-term marking contest, but shooed officials away and played the rest of the quarter out.
The ladder-leading reigning premiers face Fremantle, Geelong and Collingwood before September.
Roughead risks missing at least the Grand Final rematch against the Dockers, in Perth next Sunday.
The 27-year-old, who kicked five goals against Melbourne to bring his season tally to 55 and get closer to defending his Coleman Medal, was reported in the second quarter when he clashed legs with Dom Tyson.
Tyson evaded the key forward, who then seemingly flung his left leg out instinctively rather than maliciously in front of 37,082 fans.
The Demon midfielder quickly hopped to his feet and took the resultant free kick, which will help Roughead when the Match Review Panel analyses the incident on Monday.
But even if the panel classify Roughead's charge as negligent, he could still miss a match due to 64 carryover demerit points from a one-week ban earlier this season.
"We'll just wait and see ... we'll leave it up to the Match Review Panel and see how we go," Roughead told Fox Footy.
The omission of Roughead would further test Hawthorn's depth and force coach Alastair Clarkson to reshape his forward line yet again.
Jack Gunston injured his knee last week and is likely to miss another one or two games.
"Someone will fill that role for us. We were able to cope really throughout the course of this year without Buddy Franklin," Clarkson said of Gunston's absence earlier in the week.
Luke Breust booted three goals on Saturday, while Bradley Hill kicked two and was stationed deep in the Hawks' forward line for much of the game.
The contest started in scrappy fashion, Hawthorn needing 13 minutes before Roughead booted the opening goal.
Melbourne hung tough early, ruckman Max Gawn benefiting from a 50m penalty to slot the opening goal of the second quarter and reduce the margin to nine points.
The Demons never got closer.
The Hawks punished turnovers and put on intermittent bursts of champagne football, increasing their lead at every break.
Lewis finished with a game-high 34 disposals, seven tackles and eight clearances, while Tyson and Nathan Jones were among Melbourne's best.
HAWTHORN 4.4 10.8 15.8 17.13 (115)
MELBOURNE 2.1 4.5 7.8 9.11 (65)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Roughead 5, Breust 3, Hill 2, Smith 2, Lewis, Shiels, Schoenmakers, Hale, Puopolo
Melbourne: Gawn 2, Kent, Frawley, Viney, Kennedy-Harris, Riley, Tyson, Dawes
BEST
Hawthorn: Lewis, Roughead, Shiels, Breust, Hodge, Hill
Melbourne: Tyson, N. Jones, Kent, Gawn, Jetta, Howe
INJURIES
Hawthorn: TBC
Melbourne: TBC
SUBSTITUTES
Hawthorn: Billy Hartung replaced Luke Hodge at three-quarter time
Melbourne: Aidan Riley replaced Rohan Bail in the third quarter
Reports: Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn) for tripping Dom Tyson (Melbourne) in the second quarter
Umpires: Dalgleish, Foot, Ryan
Official crowd: 37,082 at the MCG
