Back-to-back Beauties: Hawthorn destroy Sydney in GF

Jarryd Roughead and Bradley Hill

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The final score was 21.11 (137) to 11.8 (74) and winning captain Luke Hodge won his second Norm Smith Medal - his best-on-ground performance featuring 35 possessions, 12 marks and two goals.

Jarryd Roughead booted five goals and Will Langford completed an outstanding finals series to finish with three goals - each worthy of the highlight reel.

The Hawks have four quarters of ruthless pressure to thank for their 12th premiership, while the Swans were unforeseeably lethargic and way too submissive for a grand final combatant.

Few of 99,454 at the MCG could have predicted the ease in which Alastair Clarkson's men would dominate, but it became clear, perhaps as early as quarter-time.

The margin was 20 points at the first break, and lengthened at every change.


Cyril Rioli of the Hawks flies for a mark. hoto by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

The triumph makes Hawthorn the first club since the VFL became the AFL in 1990 to win four premierships, stamping the Hawks as the kings of the modern era.
 
Hawthorn's finals warriors such as Sam Mitchell (33 touches and nine tackles), Jordan Lewis (37 possessions) and Shaun Burgoyne (24 touches and two goals) rose to the occasion.

Conversely Sydney's decorated senior players flopped.

Jarrad McVeigh (11 touches) and Dan Hannebery (20 disposals) had howlers, while speedsters Gary Rohan and Lewis Jetta offered nothing to the cause.

Lance Franklin actually fired, but the chronic lack of supply (Hawthorn had 64 inside 50s to 44) limited his return to 4.2.

The Swans started the game stronger and booted two of the opening three goals, including Josh Kennedy's first of the match just before the five-minute mark.


Josh Kennedy of the Swans celebrates the opening goal. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

But the Hawks responded to the early challenge in devastating style by booting the last four majors to take a 20-point lead into quarter-time.

Hawthorn dominated the opening term as they had plenty more inside 50s (19-7), disposals (104-86) and tackles (22-7).

The second-term onslaught is what really did the damage.

Hawthorn opened a whopping 47-point lead on the back of five straight majors in the middle of the quarter.

The shell-shocked Swans responded with some late inside 50s, but goals to Adam Goodes and Franklin was all they could garner.

Hawthorn twisted the knife with a late goal to Roughead, which stretched the lead to an even seven goals.

And it was Roughead who marked and goaled six minutes into the third term - that moment was when the contest died.


Jarryd Roughead of the Hawks is congratulated by team mates after kicking a goal. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Langford kept the crowd on its feet by kicking the goal of the day. Under pressure from two Swans, he steered it home from the boundary with a stunning grubber kick.

Sydney in the latter stages of the term played like a side that knew its number was well and truly up.  

By three-quarter time the margin was 54 points, and Hawks fans knew champagne footy awaited them.

And that's how it unfolded, as Hawthorn outscored Sydney three goals to five.

Hawthorn endured more than its share of challenges in 2014.

Clarkson spent five rounds in hospital recovering from a midseason bout of auto-immune nerve disease Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Franklin's departure for the Swans was a distraction all year, and no clubs faced as many top-six teams throughout the year.

This premiership will go down as one of hardest earned in AFL history.

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