Hawks dent Pies' finals hopes

A powerhouse first quarter coupled with a dominant eight-goal haul by Lance Franklin has enabled Hawthorn to continue Collingwood's run out of outs with an emphatic 54-point win at the MCG on Friday night.

Proving last week's bold effort against Geelong was no flash in the pan, the Hawks launched a six-goal-to-one assault against Collingwood in the opening term, then withstood a mini-revival in the third term by the Magpies to win 17.14 (116) to 8.14 (62).

After trailing by as much as 39 points midway through the second quarter, the Magpies, through a lift in intensity, slowly edged their way back into the game.

The margin was still five goals at the long break but unanswered goals to John Anthony, Scott Pendlebury and Heath Shaw in the opening nine minutes of the third quarter slashed the margin to 12 points.

But when Lance Franklin kicked one a minute later, the Magpies' challenge was extinguished.

Viewed in isolation, Hawthorn's first quarter was as dominant as anything dished up by the Cats this season.

They were quick by hand, fleet of foot, first at the ball and tackled strongly when not in possession.

The Hawks more than doubled the Magpies for handball receives, which showed how much more willing they were to run, and smashed their opposition in the clearances 13-3.

When the planets align like that, it takes a mighty team to beat you. And the Magpies were far from that.

Their quarter, pedestrian at best, was epitomised by a John Anthony kick for goal which failed to clear the man on the mark.

While not as damaging in the final three quarters - a gaping wound had already been inflicted - the Hawks played a style of game which exposed the Magpies' lack of speed.

Upon winning the ball in defence, they would break open the play with a chain of quick handballs then either switch the play to the opposing wing or hurry the ball through the corridor.

That explained in part why the Hawks finished the game with 87 more touches than the Magpies and 50 more handball receives.

It also enabled Franklin, again a colossus in attack, to comprehensively outplay both Nick Maxwell and Harry O'Brien.

On the down side, his kicking was again erratic, booting seven behinds and one out on the full with a kicking action that veers as far left as a socialist party.

But despite not playing exclusively in attack, Franklin and Jarryd Roughead, who had a quiet night by his standards, still managed to combine for 12 goals.

Sam Mitchell and Chance Bateman, whose run and carry sliced the Magpies apart early, were again prolific in the midfield, and Luke Hodge, showing his versatility, had a positive influence both in defence and in the middle.

Trent Croad, off the ground briefly in the third quarter due to a knee injury, had the better of Travis Cloke.

The Magpies had few winners. Shaw was influential when his team fought back, Dane Swan was serviceable in the middle, while O'Brien battled gamely in defence.

However, Josh Fraser made a poor return to league football, his seven possessions having little influence on the match. Both he and the Magpies have plenty of work to do in the ensuing four weeks.

COLLINGWOOD: 1.2, 3.8, 6.13, 8.14 (62)
HAWTHORN: 6.3, 8.8, 12.11, 17.14 (116)

GOALS: Collingwood: Pendlebury 2, H. Shaw 2, Anthony, Davis, Didak, Medhurst
Hawthorn: Franklin