First quarter: Hawthorn 4.5 (29) to Melbourne 2.0 (12)
Melbourne got off to fine start, booting the first two goals of the match.
In his first game for the year, Chris Dawes started proceedings, before Christian Petracca made it two in two minutes for the red and blue.
The Hawks didn’t kick their first major until the 14-minute mark, but when Jack Gunston opened with two in a row, Luke Breust followed up and James Sicily kicked truly, the brown and gold had four unanswered majors.
At quarter-time, Hawthorn led by 17 points, but the margin could’ve been greater had it not booted five behinds from its nine scoring shots.
After starting on the bench, Jack Trengove made his long-awaited return, when he came on at the six-minute mark.
Second quarter: Melbourne 7.2 (44) to Hawthorn 6.7 (43)
The Hawks made it five consecutive majors when Cyril Rioli landed one just 22 seconds into the second term.
With Hawthorn up by 23 points, Melbourne needed to break the cycle if it was to get back into the contest – and it did, when it hit back strongly with five of the next six goals.
Jesse Hogan, Aaron vandenBerg, Dom Tyson and Dean Kent made it four in a row, with Kent’s soccer off the ground putting Melbourne back in front.
Hawthorn regained the lead briefly when Gunston kicked his third, but when Jack Watts registered his first, moments before half-time, Melbourne went into the main break with a one-point lead.
Bernie Vince was the clear ball-winner by the main break with 21 disposals. Dom Tyson had 19 touches and skipper Nathan Jones had 16.
Third quarter: Melbourne 10.2 (62) to Hawthorn 8.14 (62)
Hawthorn added two behinds to start the second half, which put it back in front by one point.
But when Kent and Watts added their second each, Melbourne was up by 11 points.
Brad Hill booted Hawthorn’s first for the term at the 17-minute mark, but when Jones answered shortly afterwards, the red and blue held a nine-point advantage.
Hawthorn had the last four scoring shots of the quarter, but managed just one goal via Breust, who managed his second.
His major leveled the scores entering the final stanza.
Final quarter: Hawthorn 11.16 (82) defeated Melbourne 10.4 (64)
Scores were hard to come by early in the final term.
Hawthorn’s Kade Stewart posted a behind to start the quarter, putting it back in front by a point, before James Harmes’ point leveled the scores again.
Stewart managed the first major at the 11-minute mark and when Paul Puopolo kicked Hawthorn’s second for the term just before time-on, the brown and gold was up by 13 points.
And when Hawk Tim O’Brien made in three in a row, Hawthorn was up 19 points and had all but sealed the game.
Melbourne’s only other score for the quarter was a behind to Aaron vandenBerg, which brought the margin back to 18 points – the final margin.
