Hawthorn vs Port Mega Preview
#Silk400
What a celebration this promises to be. #Silk400.
A tremendous ambassador and servant of our club, the game, and his heritage.
It’ll be a moment to savour when Silk runs out to play his 400th game of AFL football - and what an understated yet incredible achievement it is.
It goes against everything Shaun Burgoyne stands for - individual accolade, the spotlight shining on him, and the media train he has been aboard all week.
It promises to be a wonderful evening - and if last week was anything to go by, we will all be up and about whenever he gets near it.
A key contributor to our greatest ever achievement - three on the trot - Burgoyne’s legacy at Hawthorn will forever remain, and tonight we will celebrate a true champion.
There will also be a game of footy on (whodathunkit?) - so here is our look at some of the history leading into the match.
Current Form
Last five matches:
Hawthorn: LLWLW
Port: WWLWW
Last Start
What a win last week at the home of footy - the MCG, as the Hawks held the Giants at bay all day. We never really looked like coughing up the four points in what was a dominant performance, highlighted by the brilliance of Will Day and debutant Denver Grainger-Barras - the pair showcasing the future of the club on the big stage.
There were so many great contributions with Dylan Moore (four goals), Dan Howe, Ben McEvoy and Jack Scrimshaw among the team’s best players, while Timmy O pulled in Mark of the Century, and every other century before it.
The Power held off a late surge from the Swans in what was a dramatic final quarter of footy, with Port heading into the final term 15 points ahead. Three last quarter goals from Buddy put the Swans ahead before the Power dug deep with goals of their own to Sam Mayes and Scott Lycett - eventually running out 10 point victors.
At the selection table
Hawthorn:
IN
Conor Nash, Damon Greaves, Shaun Burgoyne (was the sub)
OUT
Chad Wingard (Injured), Denver Grainger-Barras (Injured), Will Day (Injured)
A huge trio of outs for the Hawks with three big-name injuries paving way in this big clash at Marvel. DGB and Day represent the future of the Hawks and each game without them here on in will be disappointing, while Wings will be gutted he can’t be out there for Silk’s special day.
Port:
IN
Riley Bonner
OUT
Dylan Williams (Omitted), Martin Frederick (Omitted)
A big inclusion in Bonner for the Power - who is more than handy with his run and carry. Still a number of players missing from their best side, but they have a deep list so will be well served tonight.
History
Overall:
P: 36 W: 16 D: 0 L: 20
Last 5 games:
P: 5 W: 3 D: 0 L: 2
Despite losing our last start against the Power at Adelaide Oval, we managed to win the two matches we played against them before that in 2019 and 2018 - both which were in Tasmania.
We were 1-1 in the two matches before that which included our only win in five attempts at Adelaide Oval in 2016.
Record at the Marvel:
Hawthorn - P: 82 W: 48 D: 1 L: 33
Port - P: 55 W: 22 D: 0 L: 33
Brownlow Votes - last 10 matches:
HAWTHORN:
5- Tom Mitchell
4 - Isaac Smith
3 - Rickey Henderson, Brad Hill, Jack Gunston, Sam Mitchell
2 - Liam Shiels, Rioli, Jordan Lewis, Jarryd Roughead, David Hale
1 - James Sicily,
Port:
10 - Travis Boak
4 - Robbie Gray
3 - Brad Ebert
2 - Charlie Dixon, Chad Wingard, Kane Cornes
1 - Tom Clurey, Sam Powell-Pepper, Ollie Wines, Sam Gray. Jared Polec
Last time we met
Round 13, Saturday 22 August 2020
Port 9.14.68 defeated HAW 9.4.58
Another of our Adelaide hub games in season 2020 that had ‘nothing special’ written all over it. We got the jump on Port kicking four goals to two in the oping quarter to take a 10-point lead into the first break.
The Power turned the tables in the second term to be up by nine at half time, before we whittled that lead away to be all square at the final break.
A two-goal to one final term gave Port a 10-point win, with Worpel (26 possessions) and Mitchell (25) our major ball-winners, while Chad Wingard and Shaun Burgoyne each kicked two goals.
Mitchell earned himself two Brownlow votes for his efforts.
Fun facts:
🥇We have only played the Power once at the MCG in the past 10 years - and what a game it was. We beat them in the 2014 Prelim by three points in front of nearly 75,000 fans.
👻 Ryan Burton will play his first ever career game against Hawthorn having been injured the two times the clubs have played while he has been a Port Adelaide player. Hawthorn are the only team he has never played against.
👐 Collingwood, Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs are the only teams that Chad Wingard hasn’t polled Brownlow votes against. Port will have to wait.
🌟 Similarly to Chad, Shaun Burgoyne only has three teams that he hasn’t polled Brownlow votes agains, and Port Adelaide is one of them (GWS and Richmond are the others).
🍔 Silk has a 10-6 record in his 16 games played agains the Power - interestingly he has a 9-2 record in matches he played against the Hawks.
Guys - how many hundred games for Shaun? 🏟 Hawthorn and Port have only ever played once at Marvel - in Round 21, 2015, where the Power ran out 22 point winners after being ahead by only one point at three quarter time.
Hawks Insiders Tips
Ashley Browne: Port by 10 points
Darren Levin: Hawks by 9 points
Andrew Weiss: Port by 17 points