Hawthorn has fired the first warning shot in 2025, defeating last year’s runners-up Sydney by 20 points in an engrossing season-opener at the SCG on Friday night.
The Hawks led for the vast majority of the evening after quelling a quick Swans start, before holding on in deteriorating final-quarter conditions to win 14.12 (96) over Sydney’s 11.10 (76).
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The two sides traded blows in the second half amid a Sydney resurgence following a costly injury to Hawthorn ball-getter James Worpel, who was subbed out for the first time in his 183-game AFL career at half-time with an ankle concern.
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Sam Mitchell’s side proved too slick however, eeking out the hosts in the final 30 minutes to pocket the first win of the 2025 campaign.
Hawthorn finished the night with 18 more inside-50s than the hosts and won the clearance battle 47-33 in a huge tick for the Hawks’ engine room early doors.
“There were some great midfield contests, and I think that was where the game was won,” star Hawks recruit Tom Barrass told Fox Footy’s Sarah Jones post-game.
Swans superstar Chad Warner was best afield for Dean Cox’s side, finishing with 26 disposals and two ripping goals — and at various times turning the tide against a composed Hawks lineup.
Aggressive defender Nick Blakey was also prolific coming out of the back half, notching 26 disposals, 804 metres gained and a goal.
Beyond Worpel’s ankle injury, Sydney’s Taylor Adams (hamstring tightness) received treatment on the sidelines for respective niggles.
Day was also assessed by doctors during the middle of the match but played out the game with little worry.
The 3-2-1… (with Jack Jovanovski)
3. HAWKS’ ‘DOMINANT FORCE’, SUPER SWINGMAN BURY SWANS AS ‘TANTALISING’ DILEMMA LOOMS
One game has been played this season, but it’s abundantly clear Hawthorn has a burgeoning superstar on its hands.
An emerging centre-forward weapon, Will Day was accumulative through the middle of the ground but also asserted himself as an unlikely scoring threat against the Swans.
And while he was limited in the third quarter by a James Jordon tag — and a cramp that sent hearts into Hawks fans’ mouths — Day, overall, was undeniable.
The South Australian finished with 26 disposals, four marks, six tackles, nine clearances, 698 metres gained, seven score involvements, six inside-50s and a career-high three goals.
The 23-year-old’s entire goalscoring haul came in the first half alone. Last season, managed three goals for the entire season after six the year before and three in 2022.
“Will Day has been a dominant force with three goals … He just doesn’t do this (impact the scoreboard to such a degree), so this is a dimension of this guy who’s a potential superstar of our competition that we haven’t seen before,” expert Fox Footy analyst David King said on Friday night.
“How exciting, if you’re a Hawks fan.”
Melbourne great Garry Lyon added: “If you needed a reminder of just how talented Will Day was, you just got it in that first half. A midfielder who goes head-to-head with Chad Warner and (Isaac) Heeney (for midfield scoreboard impact).”
Four-time premiership player Jordan Lewis lauded Day’s footy intelligence.
“He’s got high IQ,” Lewis said of Day on Fox Footy. “What I love is when you see players go from inside to outside of the stoppage and their running patterns.
“They’re not too risky, he does it with real control. He makes sure there’s coverage at the back of the stoppage, but this is what these two midfielders — him and (Jai) Newcombe — can offer.
“When they go forward, they usually get a mismatch; he’s so dangerous in the air … You can just tell he’s got supreme confidence when he gets the ball, (and) even though he’s tackled, he’s got the ability to shrug.”
AFL legend Jason Dunstall added: “He’s so brilliant with his evasive skills. When he gets the ball, he buys himself time to then use it.”
And so, predictably, the Swans weren’t going to sit back and let the damage continue into the second half, with coach Dean Cox eventually sending James Jordon to Day.
It was an effective magnet move, with the Hawks star’s influence quelled in the third quarter.
“James Jordon’s clamped Will Day … he’s had just one disposal in this third term (after 12 minutes),” caller Anthony Hudson noted.
And while his second half was quieter than his first, the damage had been done.
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Elsewhere for Hawthorn, Josh Battle and Tom Barrass officially debuted in Hawthorn’s backline, lining up alongside the likes of Jack Scrimshaw and Josh Weddle.
Battle matched up with Tom Papley in a showcase of the recruit’s versatility as a defender, while Barrass again showcased his composure.
Sam Frost also featured but was curiously named the tactical substitute — entering after James Worpel exited injured — and while skipper James Sicily was cheekily named on a wing, he started in defence after summer-long intrigue over a mooted forward move.
The captain lined up on Sydney swingman Tom McCartin and was prominent from the get-go, winning one-on-one contests and slingshotting with precision.
But in the final quarter, with the game there to be won, coach Sam Mitchell threw his captain forward, where he set the tone to start the final stanza by dishing off a goal assist and finished with a result-sealing left-footed snap.
Despite playing three quarters behind the ball, Sicily unfathomably finished with seven score involvements — third-best on the ground — to go with 20 disposals, eight intercept possessions, five contested marks, 431 metres gained and a goal.
“He’s such a gun, truly, he’s a bit of an unconventional footballer, but he just gets the job done,” Barrass told Fox Footy post-game.
“He (had) a couple of shots at goal and was close to having a couple more (as a forward).
“We love ‘Sic’ — we love him down back, but we love him up forward when he does that.”
Fox Footy caller Gerard Whateley rightly noted the week-to-week situation regarding swingman Sicily would be a “tantalising” storyline to follow this season, with Hudson highlighting both sides of the coin.
“It will (be intriguing), and one of the hard things is he’s so good in defence,” Hudson said during Fox Footy’s post-match coverage.
“You do give up something, don’t you? I guess, with the way they had to re-fashion the backline with the sub that was forced on them losing Worpel, they were able to rearrange things — and Sicily went forward and gave them more than just a target.”
It does truly seem like it will be a game-by-game prospect as it pertains to his deployment.
It made sense tonight after Frost entered the game, particularly once the Swans threw Will Hayward onto Sicily, but it’s unlikely Frost plays every week — and it will remain a dilemma for Mitchell and his match committee as the season wears on.
2. STAR’S ‘DAMAGING’ NIGHT NOT ENOUGH AS FIGHTBACK FALLS SHORT
It was a game of two halves for the Swans, whose second-half resurgence fell short but was nevertheless threatening — and it was their superstar who characteristically did the heavy-lifting.
Despite a “ruthlessly efficient” start to the game with regards to their inside-50 efficiency, the Swans were progressively forced wide by the Hawks.
And while Sydney lost the ascendancy in the second quarter, Chad Warner’s building influence wasn’t lost on observers as the hosts eventually stormed back.
“The guy who looked like he could take the game and do it well was Chad Warner,” former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said on Fox Footy.
“His ability to break the lines and be able to challenge the Hawthorn defence was excellent, especially early in the match.
“(He) was largely through the midfield and stoppage … He was so damaging.
“He’s so hard to tackle, (he’s) changing angles and then opening up the Sydney forward line for his teammates.”
The out-of-contract superstar finished the night with 21 disposals, 12 score involvements, six inside 50s, 570 metres gained and a goal.
The change in momentum after half-time coincided with the injury absence of influential Hawthorn midfielder James Worpel, but the Swans were also able to quell the respective influence of Will Day and James Sicily.
Day and Sicily were limited to a combined four disposals, with James Jordon (on Day) and Will Hayward (Sicily) doing the jobs.
Nick Blakey added 10 disposals and a goal in the third quarter, providing the electric element that went missing in the second term — setting up a grandstand final term in “deteriorating” wet conditions at the SCG.
One hundred and sixty-one days after their demoralising grand final defeat at the hands of Brisbane, the Swans were valiant in their fightback, but the visitors were more clinical in slippery conditions.
The Swans were without star ball-winners Errol Gulden and Callum Mills — and will be for the opening portion of the season — while key forward Logan McDonald was also absent and won’t be ready to return for a couple of weeks still.
End to end Swans setup McCartin | 00:46
1. KEY INJURY SOURS WIN AFTER FAST START
On the cusp of half time, Worpel was brought to ground in a tackle and in the process, his ankle was awkwardly twisted.
The 26-year-old set the tone early in Hawthorn’s nucleus, accumulating 11 disposals, six score involvements, five clearances and four inside-50s before the main break to give opposition coach Dean Cox headaches.
However, concerns over the midfielder’s ankle were confirmed coming out of half-time, with the Hawks’ medical team ruling him out of any further action as the second half got underway.
“Hawthorn says that it is a right ankle and it (was) being assessed … He was in real pain, in deep conversation with the Hawthorn doctor as he went around to the bench at half-time … When your sub is the key-position defender in Sam Frost, you’re probably more likely to want to keep Worpel out there,” Fox Footy and Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph said boundary-side just minutes before his eventual substitution.
King added: “Sam (Mitchell) was looking to swing Sicily forward, that’s what the sub was there for, but you lose a midfielder (Worpel), a guy who’s been a very effective clearance player in a half, and it’s game on again in the middle.”
Amid his monster game, Will Day looked to suffer cramp throughout the second half of the match — however there don’t appear any genuine concerns in the aftermath.
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