Lloyd Meek down to Jai Newcombe, who exploded out the front of stoppage and sent it deep to Mitch Lewis. Lewis created a predictable drop for the dynamic Connor MacDonald, who snapped Hawthorn's third goal in three minutes early in the last quarter last weekend.
It was arguably the match-winner, sapping Gold Coast and extending the margin to 25 points.
Hawthorn scored 32 points from centre stoppages against the Suns after concerning signs at centre stoppages in the weeks leading into the bye.
“We've worked on centre bounce for a considerable part of the year and we're starting to see change in there which has been positive,” Hawthorn midfield coach David Mackay told Zero Hanger.
“We'll keep going after it. You have to continually be giving yourself the best opportunity in there and all the craft you do around that specific part of the game tells over a period of time.”
Earlier in the season, the Hawks fell away significantly late in the game against Fremantle, did not capitalise on their clearances in a close loss to Western Bulldogs and started terribly in that area against Adelaide
Will Day's return has been timely, with Hawthorn winning just one of the four games prior to his return, and he provided a reminder of his talent last Friday night and looks primed for a big finish to the season after his shoulder injury.
Skipper Jai Newcombe has reinforced his credentials as a bona fide on-baller in 2026.
But whether the club has a strong and deep enough midfield around that pair to go all the way in 2026 has been a point of contention since images of an exasperated Tom Petroro emerged from Marvel Stadium at the end of the 2025 AFL Trade Period as it became clear his client, Zach Merrett, would not be a Hawk this year.
“I won't be getting into individual players but what I do now is our list management has been pretty open about trying to improve our list…we're going to try and do that at season's end,” Mitchell said on Channel 7's Agenda Setters on Monday.
Be that as it may, it won't help them hoist a 14th flag in 2026, putting the onus on the young midfielders to step up and assist Newcombe and Day.
Getting it done in tight games
Hawthorn is 3-1-1 in games decided by single digit margins in 2026.
That includes a win over Geelong when they trailed by six points with 94 seconds remaining, taking two points off Collingwood despite leading for only 11 minutes after quarter time and surviving against the Power, who had a shot to likely win the game at the death.
Put simply, they're finding a way to bank points even when well below their best and are well versed in the close finish.
“I think we've worked hard on keeping the game played the way we want it played in those scenarios and not being dictated to by scenario and what the opposition are doing, just making sure we stay playing the way we know we can play which is going to get us opportunities,” MacKay said.
The Hawks set the tone in that regard with a five goal to two last quarter in an upset 17-point win against Sydney in Round 2 and they have since maintained that standard.
“The pleasing thing is in those close games we create opportunities even if we haven't always taken them," MacKay said.
“Like against the Western Bulldogs, we didn't have a great night but we put ourselves in a position where we could have won and we know playing against the best teams in the comp, we're going to face those scenarios more.”
