Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nThe Power then had another chance to run over the top, but Georgiades couldn\u2019t nail a relatively tough set shot inside the last minute as Hawthorn hung on to win by three points, 13.11 (89) to 13.8 (86).<\/p>\n
The win saw Hawthorn improve to 5-1 \u2014 its best start to a season since 2014 \u2014 and climb into second place on the ladder. <\/p>\n
Port, meanwhile, fell to 2-4 overall. <\/p>\n
3. \u2018GETTING BELTED\u2019: POWER RUE EARLY WIZ CALL IN HAWKS \u2018RELIEF\u2019<\/p>\n
In the absence of Jack Gunston and Mabior Chol, the electric Nick Watson stepped up to boot a career-best five goals in a scintillating display. <\/p>\n
Watson was prolific in the first and third quarters in particular, also finishing with 13 disposals and three clearances. <\/p>\n
\u201cBit of relief that one\u2019s over,\u201d Watson told Fox Footy post-game. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have such depth in our forward line. Obviously, \u2018Gunners\u2019 and \u2018Mabs\u2019 are big exclusions, but we have such depth, and it was good to see Will McCabe get a gig \u2026 and \u2018Calsh\u2019 (Calsher Dear) back as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the nailbiting win, milestone man Karl Amon called Watson a \u201cgenuine superstar\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe good thing about Nick is all his offensive stuff comes off his defensive acts \u2014 the chasedown tackles, the blocks for teammates,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a credit to him. He probably took a while to get going, but now he\u2019s absolutely flying, and it\u2019s a pleasure to play with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hawthorn kicked seven first-quarter goals, with three coming from Watson alone in an ominous early display at Docklands. <\/p>\n
It forced a change of matchup, with Port Adelaide coach Josh Carr choosing to deploy four-gamer Josh Lai on Watson. <\/p>\n
\u201cHow much can you learn by getting belted? \u2026Even a quarter and three goals kicked on you might be great experience,\u201d Hall of Fame Legend Jason Dunstall said on Fox Footy in the first quarter. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou might fight back in the second term, and that\u2019s the bit where you don\u2019t want to give up on (it). <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s interesting. I mean, if he finds a way to fight back and do a really good job on Watson for the rest of the game, it\u2019ll be the best day he\u2019s ever had. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut if he ends up having six or seven kicked on him, he\u2019s had three already, you\u2019re thinking (as the coach) \u2018have I done more damage than good?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr switched Lachie Jones onto Watson at the start of the second term. <\/p>\n
\u201c(Watson) lit up the first quarter; he\u2019s such a tough player to match up on \u2026 Lai given the job, it\u2019s been a great opportunity for him to learn about what\u2019s going on,\u201d Dunstall said. <\/p>\n
\u201cJones is going to get the job now. He said \u2018you\u2019ve learnt, good effort, we might need you in a different role or you might get another crack at it later, who knows?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 18: Nick Watson of the Hawks celebrates in front of Lachie Jones of the Power during the 2026 AFL Round 06 match between the Hawthorn Hawks and the Port Adelaide Power at Marvel Stadium on April 18, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
Former West Coast coach Adam Simpson said: \u201cThe way you deliver that message is always with a bit of positivity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watson was kept scoreless with just two disposals in the second quarter, but he was raring again in the third quarter as the Hawks got back rolling. <\/p>\n
He was the beneficiary of a fortunate free kick against Jones inside 50, before magnificently roving a marking contest to snap his second of the third term. <\/p>\n
On Saturday, the Hawks looked to go quick at almost every opportunity after marking around the ground, and they booted four unanswered goals before the Power finally got going. <\/p>\n
But after having all the ascendancy early, it was all Port Adelaide in the second term, causing Sam Mitchell some serious headaches. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had enough. He\u2019ll have some strategy around what needs to be done (after half-time),\u201d Adam Simpson said. <\/p>\n
Dunstall added: \u201cHe\u2019d be concerned with what\u2019s happening when it\u2019s going inside 50 as well, because it\u2019s coming out very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boundary-side, Lauren Wood said: \u201cThe energy has well and truly shifted, Sam Mitchell now coaching from the bench, and I\u2019ll tell you what, he is absolutely patrolling \u2014 he\u2019s punching his hand, he\u2019s pointing at his players, and he is making these messages be heard loud and clear. It\u2019s on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hawthorn kicked four goals to two in the third term and then went two apiece with the Power in the last to hold on for the four points. <\/p>\n
To the 25-minute mark of the final term, the Hawks had forged eight front-half turnovers in the quarter to put themselves in a winning position.<\/p>\n
2. \u2018WENT IN WITH A PLAN\u2019: GUTSY POWER OVERCOME \u2018ALARM BELLS\u2019 TO SCARE HAWKS<\/p>\n
Port Adelaide supporters would have been fearing a blowout when Hawthorn booted the game\u2019s first four goals at Docklands. <\/p>\n
Josh Carr\u2019s side was -19 for points from clearances in the first quarter, with the Hawks winning five more clearances than the visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019d be alarm bells everywhere in the box,\u201d Adam Simpson said of Port\u2019s early setback. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a screen with all the major stats, and they\u2019d all be flashing red at the moment. You just take a deep breath and hopefully the players can work through it.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Port, which excelled in an uncontested style of game to slow the fast Hawks down, booted six unanswered goals in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is unbelievable,\u201d Dunstall said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSam Mitchell would love it to be half-time right now, but unfortunately, you\u2019re relying on leaders on-field to make decisions, and they\u2019re just not getting it right at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr told Fox Footy at half-time: \u201cTo give them that start in the first quarter, especially around the contest, three centre-bounce goals in the first quarter, and the marks as well, we took that away from them, so it was a great response.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the second term, Port Adelaide had looked to control play with uncontested marks, finishing the first half +25 in the metric. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think they went in with a plan at the start of the game to execute this,\u201d Simpson said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere were too many things going wrong in the first quarter to get this going. Second quarter they tidied up centre bounces, made a few changes with the disciplines, then they started to bring this (shorter inside-50 entries) into the game, which is taking away the Barrass types with the deep entries versus these leading lanes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dunstall added: \u201cIt\u2019s been impressive. They\u2019ve gone to school on not giving Hawthorn what they want from a defensive setup, and they\u2019ve been able to isolate contests that have suited them inside 50. It\u2019s been impressive coaching from Josh Carr.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hawks were always going to come again, and the hosts kicked four goals to two in the third term. <\/p>\n
But in a tight and tense final quarter, Mitch Georgiades had a chance to kick the Power ahead at the 32-minute mark but missed across the face. <\/p>\n
Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis led from the front with 35 and 28 disposals respectively, with Horne-Francis going close to best-on-ground honours.<\/p>\n
1. \u2018THEY KNOW THE RULES\u2019: HAWKS DUO IN HOT MRO WATER FOR \u2018PETULANT\u2019 ACTS<\/p>\n
Hawthorn will sweat on Match Review findings for two stars following contentious gut-punch acts on Saturday. <\/p>\n
The AFL has made no secret of its harder stance against gut punches this year, with such acts now graded as medium impact rather than low in the MRO matrix, resulting in one-match bans on the majority of occasions. <\/p>\n
And at Docklands, co-captain James Sicily and Dylan Moore committed off-the-ball acts that are set to be scrutinised by Michael Christian. <\/p>\n
First, Moore whacked Port\u2019s Logan Evans in the third quarter. The hit looked to come more to Evans\u2019 side than his stomach, but it was still a closed-fist action off the ball. Thus, he looks destined to serve a one-week sentence. <\/p>\n
\u201cMoore with a gut punch \u2014 we heard Greg Swann earlier in the year \u2026 he was incredibly simple about it; he wants to see these out of the game,\u201d Lauren Wood reported from the boundary on Fox Footy at three-quarter-time. <\/p>\n
Evans was again the victim of an off-the-ball hit late in the third quarter, and this time it was skipper Sicily who disappointingly committed the transgression. <\/p>\n
Wood said: \u201cYou can see him explaining to the umpire, appearing to say it was his elbow (that made contact), but as we know, cameras are everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall was none too pleased with either act. <\/p>\n
\u201cI find it incredibly frustrating when I watch acts of ill-discipline or petulance like that,\u201d Dunstall said. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be able to cope with that (opposition irritants), and the fact is, those players may find themselves out for a week for something that minor, and don\u2019t begrudge if they get rubbed out for a week \u2014 they know what the rules are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former West Coast coach Simpson added: \u201cWhen it\u2019s your captain, as well \u2026 when the focus in the offseason has been on that, that\u2019s what you need to avoid when you retaliate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hawks host Gold Coast in Tasmania next week in a crucially important match.<\/p>\n
Re-live our live coverage of Hawthorn vs Port Adelaide in our blog below! Can\u2019t see the blog?Click here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hawthorn has survived a thriller against Port Adelaide after a Mitch Georgiades missed set shot denied the Power…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,689,55,639,31769,2105,7492,12102,171198,27709,14402,7198,677,6082,12104,274752,12936,1124,85,1122,298520,660,298519],"class_list":{"0":"post-615018","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","12":"tag-australian-football-league","13":"tag-australianfootballleague","14":"tag-dante-visentini","15":"tag-getty-images-inc","16":"tag-hawthorn-hawks","17":"tag-jack-gunston","18":"tag-jack-watkins","19":"tag-josh-carr","20":"tag-mabior-chol","21":"tag-michael-willson","22":"tag-oceania","23":"tag-port-adelaide","24":"tag-port-adelaide-power","25":"tag-power-coach","26":"tag-sam-mitchell","27":"tag-south-australia","28":"tag-sports","29":"tag-st-kilda","30":"tag-twilight-clash","31":"tag-victoria","32":"tag-william-mccabe"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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