Hawthorn have finished with a flurry to beat the Gold Coast Suns by 49 points in a clash in which the standing on the mark rule reared its head at a critical juncture.
The Hawks extended their winning run in Launceston to 11 matches with the 16.16 (112) to 9.9 (63) result on Saturday afternoon.
They led by as many as 46 points in the second quarter, before the Suns came to life to reduce the margin to nine in the third term.
Gold Coast conceded a 50m penalty late in the third after there was confusion between Jarrod Witts and Jamara Ugle-Hagan about who was being called by the umpire to move off the mark.
Hawthorn’s Tom Barrass was given a saloon passage to a goal, which gave his side a 75-60 lead.
Teammate Jack Gunston then slotted one from the boundary line to give the Hawks an 81-60 lead heading into the final quarter.
Hawthorn ran away with the game from there, with Gunston finishing with five goals to leave the Suns winless in Tasmania from 11 starts.
The Suns failed to kick a goal in the final term and have conceded more than 100 points in their past four games after a promising start to the season.
Jai Newcombe was heavily involved for Hawthorn with 30 disposals, six tackles and 12 clearances, while Gold Coast’s Noah Anderson was top of the possession tree with 31.
The Hawks dominated possession and territory in the opening quarter but perhaps didn’t fully capitalise with a 28-14 lead at the first break.
In his first AFL game in 596 days, former Bulldog Ugle-Hagan booted his first goal as a Sun in the 20th minute after nabbing a one-handed mark.
The Hawks sunk the boot in with a run of five goals in the second quarter to open up a 60-14 advantage.
But the Suns lifted with four of their own in a row, including two to Ben Long, who kicked around his body from 40m out to reduce the margin to 62-39 at halftime.
Ugle-Hagan nabbed a strong mark early in the third quarter before setting up Bailey Humphrey, who nailed the set shot from 50m out.
Conor Nash broke the Suns’ run of goals and steadied the Hawthorn ship with a major off a holding-the-ball penalty.
The Hawks, who move to equal top of the ladder with other games to play, are 6-1 for the season while the Gold Coast are 4-3.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/hawthorn-outshine-suns-despite-mid-game-scare-c-22192182
