Hawks thrash limp Lions by 75 points

A dominant Hawthorn midfield display set up a 17.16 (118) to 7.1 (43) thrashing of a
limp Brisbane in their AFL match in Launceston on Saturday.
The Hawks, who started the round in eighth spot, strengthened their claim on a
finals berth with their eighth win in nine rounds.
The pressure on Lions coach Michael Voss will mount after his club's 11th loss in 12
rounds.
The return of Brisbane skipper Jonathan Brown (three goals) did little to lift his
side's fortunes, as the Lions' attack was barely given a sniff, given the complete
ascendancy of the Hawks in general play.
The Hawks were ahead 7.3 to 1.0 by the first change, having taken it inside their
attacking 50m arc 17 times to two in the first term, with one of those Brisbane
entries only barely making it inside the line before being repelled.
Former Port Adelaide gun midfielder Shaun Burgoyne played his best match in Hawthorn
colours, picking up 30 touches, regularly breaking tackles to clear the ball from
congestion and using it beautifully.
Luke Hodge continued his superb season to probably shade Burgoyne for best-afield
honours, with skipper Sam Mitchell also amongst his side's best in his return from
hand surgery.
Fellow midfielder Brad Sewell also made the most of his late inclusion, after star
forward Lance Franklin was ruled out on Friday with a sprained ankle.
Sewell's reprieve meant the Hawks' 2007 best and fairest winner avoided being
dropped for what would have been the first time in five years, and he responded with
35 touches, eight clearances and six tackles.
The Lions kicked the first three goals of the second term, helped by some nice
midfield work by Jared Brennan, his side's best player, and two majors to Brown, at
one stage cutting the margin to 22 points, before two late Hawthorn goals made it 36
points at the long break.
Brisbane spearhead Brendan Fevola started the third term with his only goal of a
forgettable three-touch performance.
But the Hawks responded with a seven-goal avalanche, starting with a remarkable 50m
running shot from the boundary by Wayde Skipper, then an even more stunning 70m
effort by Clinton Young.
Jordan Lewis and Jarryd Roughead each kicked four goals for the Hawks, Roughead also
kicking five behinds and one shank out on the full, with accuracy in front of goal
the only aspect of the game the Lions had over Hawthorn.