GWS has squandered a chance to enter the AFL’s top eight, suffering an 18-point loss to Hawthorn at the MCG after Dylan Moore produced a decisive career-best performance.
The Giants, who remain in 10th spot and next face ladder-leading Melbourne, looked set to bank a percentage-boosting win after booting Sunday’s opening four goals.
But the Hawks seized momentum in a fashion as striking as Tim O’Brien’s second quarter screamer then held their nerve during a tense finish to triumph 13.12 (90) to 11.6 (72).
Moore booted four goals, including two clutch efforts in a 79-second burst that sealed the win, while 2018 Brownlow medallist Tom Mitchell grabbed a game-high 40 possessions.
Callan Ward trimmed Hawthorn’s lead to just five points late in the final quarter of the topsy-turvy tussle, only for a composed Moore to slot his set shot that came with a tick over three minutes remaining.
Moore snapped another goal moments later, putting the result beyond any doubt.
The contest was on the Giants’ terms in the early stages of their first ‘home’ game since escaping Sydney’s growing COVID-19 cluster.
But their slick ball movement and superb pressure, having been hallmarks of the youth-fuelled resurgence that followed a 0-3 start to the year, dried up after Bobby Hill’s second goal late in the opening quarter.
GWS went some 47 minutes without kicking a goal as Hawthorn built a 22-point lead.
Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson clattered a water bottle when Daniel Lloyd ended the Giants’ drought in the third term, knowing his charges had gone close to squashing the opposition’s resolve.
Stand-in skipper Toby Greene, having been unusually quiet throughout the opening half, booted two quick goals as he and fellow stars Lachie Whitfield and Josh Kelly ignited a GWS comeback.
Hawthorn’s buffer was just three points at the end of the third quarter.
Moore and Jai Newcombe’s goals gifted Clarkson’s side some breathing room.
Lloyd and Ward gave their side a chance of pinching the four premiership points before the Hawks steadied yet again.
The result extended Hawthorn’s promising post-bye form, while the highlight was undoubtedly O’Brien’s mark-of-the-year contender.
“At the peak of it, I saw the ground and it was a fair way down,” O’Brien told Fox Footy.
Substitute Shaun Burgoyne, who is set to become just the fifth man in history to play 400 VFL/AFL games when he tackles former side Port Adelaide next week, entered the fray at three-quarter time.
Chad Wingard tweaked his left hamstring and was removed from the game at the final break, while Denver Grainger-Barras’s debut ended in the fourth quarter because of a head knock.
(C) AAP 2021
HAWTHORN 2.3 6.6 8.9 13.12 (90)
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 5.1 5.4 8.6 11.6 (72)
Goals: Hawthorn: D Moore 4 T O’Brien 2 B McEvoy C Wingard J Newcombe J O’Meara J Worpel L Breust T Phillips. Greater Western Sydney: C Ward 2 D Lloyd 2 I Hill 2 T Greene 2 H Perryman J Finlayson K Briggs.
Umpires: Simon Meredith, Paul Rebeschini, Cameron Dore.
Official Crowd: 9,897 at MCG.
