Hawthorn has handed Essendon another demoralising loss to further push their top two claims, defeating their long-time rivals by 93 points at the MCG on Saturday evening.

A monster seven-goal haul from Jack Gunston spearheaded the Hawks’ demolition, finishing the match 19.18 (132) over the Bombers’ 5.9 (39).

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Gunston’s first goal didn’t come until the 14th minute of the second stanza, but from there the floodgates opened to see him kick seven majors across a 45-minute stretch.

The three-club player’s match highlight came with his sixth major, which brought up the 600th of his 296-game career.

The 34-year-old’s evening was made easier by yet another unfortunate injury to Bombers defender Jordan Ridley, who was taken out of the game just after quarter time with a foot injury.

Ridley, who is expected to seek a trade away from Tullamarine at season’s end, has played just seven senior matches this season, off the back of only 19 in the two seasons prior.

First-year teammate Sullivan Robey was also taken from the field in the third term in pain, though the club are yet to publicly state any injury he may have.

Grimly for Essendon, the club had just two goalkickers all match, as Nate Caddy kicked three alongside veteran Peter Wright with his two majors.

Hawthorn goalkickers: Gunston 7, Watson 3, Day, Chol 2, Ginnivan, Morrison, Mackenzie, Impey, Moore

Essendon goalkickers: Caddy 3, Wright 2

THE 3-2-1…

3. ‘CREPT UP ON ME’: GUNSTON STEALS SHOW WITH MILESTONE MOMENT AS DAY STARS

On Saturday evening, Jack Gunston became the 37th player in V/AFL history to kick 600 or more career goals — leading his Hawks home to their biggest win of this year.

After a goalless first term, the 34-year-old tore Essendon’s defence to shreds through his ‘disconnected forward’ role that continues to give opposition backs headaches.

A 45-minute rampage across the second and third term was where he bagged all seven of his goals for the evening, and saw teammates flood him with the milestone major as the three-quarter siren crept closer.

Speaking to Fox Footy after the final siren, Gunston revealed he “hated” the “carry-on” from his teammates when bringing up the feat, ever humble in his persona.

“It’s something that’s sort of crept up on me a bit,” Gunston said.

“I’m not a key forward, I’ve been the ‘third-string’; for a lot of my career. It’s something pretty special, and the boys gave us some good delivery today — so that was nice.”

“We all bring something different (up forward). (Mabior) Chol’s aerial and ground level is just as good as a small, and unfortunately Mitchy Lewis was out early in the game.

“We’ve worked hard on it, this hasn’t just been an overnight thing. We’ve worked hard, watched a lot of tape and given each other a lot of feedback.”

Two final-quarter goals to Nick Watson saw the small forward finish with three majors for the night, while Chol and Will Day finished with two apiece.

Day’s presence was felt from the get-go, with both shots on goal coming before the first break in an eight-disposal opening quarter that showed the competition his absolute best.

Additionally, it saw the midfielder register a goal for the fifth time in six matches at AFL level.

“He can lead them to a premiership if he can stay healthy; that’s been a big ‘if’ over his career unfortunately. But today, he looks good,” three-time Brisbane premiership player Jonathan Brown said at quarter time.

Around the ground, Hawthorn simply decimated Essendon at stoppage — scoring 6.1 (37) to 0.0 (0) from the source in the first half. Additionally, they registered 23 more handball receives than their opponents before the main break.

2. DOUBLE INJURY BLOW HITS STARS IN FIRST QUARTER CARNAGE

As Hawthorn slowly began hitting their stride after the opening ball-up, one of their most recent re-signings went down bloodied after a tough knock to the head.

Mitch Lewis, who earlier this week penned a new four-year deal at the Hawks, came off second-best after tackling Essendon’s Archer Day-Wicks in the opening term.

Coming from behind, Lewis’ head appeared to hit the back of his opponent’s head, leaving him dazed and wobbly for the best part of a few minutes.

After eventually gathering himself, the 27-year-old was flanked by trainers to come off the ground — ultimately turning down the stretcher which came out and offered to take him off.

“They are a man down, with Mitch Lewis taking that hit to the head with that tackle. He went for a HIA, but he’s officially been ruled out of the game unfortunately,” three-time premiership player Cameron Mooney told Fox Footy at quarter time.

“We just saw how wobbly he was after getting up from this hit. We suspected that we wouldn’t see him again.

“After signing that beautiful four-year contract, he’s going to have to have a rest for the rest of the day and next week as well.”

While the Bombers held a very slight advantage for 10 or so minutes of play either side of quarter time, their own Jordan Ridley was soon ruled out with yet another injury as his wretched run continues.

“Jordan Ridley is out for the game with that right foot; that’s the report that’s coming through from Essendon at the moment,” Mooney added.

“He looked very uncomfortable at quarter time. He (also) went down to the rooms halfway through the first quarter, and hasn’t quite got going again — he’s out for the game.”

Three-time Cats flag winner Tom Hawkins added: “That’s a big loss … they can ill-afford to lose Ridley. He’s almost the perfect match-up for Gunston as that disconnected forward way ahead.”

In more concerning news, first-year gun Sullivan Robey was removed from the game in the third quarter after hobbling off the ground in pain. Archer Day-Wicks was also assessed for a blow to the torso at the start of the last term.

For the Hawks, veteran Tom Barrass was seemingly rested on the bench for the final quarter, though didn’t look to be nursing any major injury.

1. ‘I’LL TAKE HIM’: DONS SKIPPER STANDS TALL TO CHALLENGE STAR HAWK EARLY

Having kicked multiple goals in 11 straight games heading into Saturday evening, Nick Watson loomed as one of many Hawthorn headaches for Dean Solomon’s side.

But, on an evening which offered little to like for Essendon fans, the resilience of captain Andrew McGrath was to be admired as he clamped down on the 170cm small forward.

After a goal in the 22nd minute of the first term, Watson was well-held on the scoreboard; though partially helped by inaccuracy.

Watson celebrates his first quarter goal.Source: Getty Images

“What we are seeing is one of the best match-ups of the day in McGrath and Watson,” Cameron Mooney said at half time.

“If you’re talking about Hawthorn kicking nine goals, you’d be thinking Watson would be having a bit of a day out — but he’s only kicked one goal.

“McGrath has held his own. I love that the skipper put his hand up during the week, and said: ‘I’ll take the most dangerous small forward in the game.

“It’s an unbelievable match-up, and right now I’d say McGrath has done pretty well on the best small forward in the game.”

After being limited on the scoreboard for the first three-and-a-bit quarters, Watson nailed home his second goal in open play before a third in the last 40 seconds of the match.

McGrath, in his first year at the helm for Essendon, has previously been criticised for his defensive efforts in 2026 but couldn’t be faulted for his efforts on Saturday evening.

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