Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell believes the 76-point drubbing at the hands of Sydney at the MCG doesn't accurately reflect how the game was played.

The Swans were overwhelming favourites to record their sixth win of the season but were weary of the challenge.

However, from start to finish, Jong Longmire's men were able to put scoreboard pressure on despite some key metrics in favour of the Hawks.

Mitchell was stunned by the end margin, alluding to the notion that Sydney's efficiency in front of goal was the main difference.

"It was a strange game," Mitchell said.

"I remember looking at the stats halfway through the third quarter, we were winning the inside 50s, we were well in front in contested possessions, winning the front half turnovers, and we were 70 points down.

"It shows how potent they were in front of goal and how well they defended.

"The system they used, how potent they are, it taught us a lesson today."

Hawthorn won the clearance (35-30) and contested possession (128-110) count while slightly trailing the entries inside 50 (47-50), marks inside 50 (13-15) and turnovers (68-64).

Sydney's composure proved to be the difference. They took 56 more marks and registered 67 extra disposals than their opponents, proving to be too smart for the youthful Hawks.

However, Mitchell's men had their chances in front of goal, with fans watching opportunities go begging.

"The margin is worse than the Gold Coast game, but I looked at today's game, if you watched it without a scoreboard, you would have said the brown and gold boys are having a crack. They're really putting a lot of pressure on the opposition," Mitchell said.

"I thought we were able to put them under pressure and get some turnovers that they wouldn't have been too happy with but we weren't able to hurt them.

"We had a lot of shots on goal that could've got momentum in our favour but we weren't able to get pressure on them on the scoreboard.

"Despite the margin being bigger than the Gold Coast game, I still think it was a much better performance."

Many costly moments from Hawthorn showed just how far off the eight-ball the club is, with forward Mabior Chol reversing a shot on goal that prevented Blake Hardwick a certain six-pointer while Jack Scrimshaw faced an irate Mitchell at the first change.

“Just that we're past that,” Mitchell told the broadcast at the first break of his interaction with Scrimshaw.

“We conceded three goals really quickly, then we're going for big, risky kicks when the instruction was the opposite.“

"We fuelled a lot of their game, the way that we turned the ball over ... and they were able to put us to the sword.”

Mitchell followed up on his quarter-time spray during Monday's coverage of Fox Footy's AFL 360, saying he wouldn't change a thing.

“I wouldn't take it back … he performed fantastically after that,” Mitchell said.

“This was a key moment and we gave them another scoring opportunity at a time where we didn't need to do that.

“His response and performance under difficult circumstances, not just this game but across the season, has been first-rate.

“You have to pick your poison with your players, what's going to help them, I look at Jack's season, he's enjoyed being coached like this.

“This is what the players have asked me to be like, you have to create an environment within the football club that handles robust discussion.”

Hawthorn falls to a disappointing 1-6 and a percentage of 69.9 ahead of their clash with the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.