BRENDON Bolton had a taste of what's to come when he took charge of Hawthorn after Alastair Clarkson was sidelined with Guillain-Barre Syndrome midway through 2014.
He led the Hawks for five games before Clarkson's return. He finished unbeaten, with his coaching reputation enhanced and his breezy, happy disposition a talking point.
Blues coach Bolton to leave Hawks this week
Here's a look at Bolton's five games in charge of the Hawks.
R11, MCG: Hawthorn 14. 10 (94) d. GWS 13. 9 (87)
Bolton's first game in charge came close to disaster. The Giants looked the better side for most of the day, leading by 11 points midway through the third quarter. It was a wrestle from there on, with the Hawks well below their best but getting to the line for a seven-point win. Hawthorn's 94 points was its second lowest score for the season.
R12, Aurora: Hawthorn 19. 9 (123) d. West Coast 12. 7 (79)
Jarryd Roughead feasted on the Eagles on a sunny Tasmanian day, kicking eight goals including four in the second quarter to set up the win. In contrast to the shaky performance against the Giants, Bolton's Hawks played with the sharp ball movement they'd become renowned for, showing patches of their best. The game was Luke Lowden's one and only outing for the Hawks after six years on the club's list before he was traded to Adelaide at the end of the season.
R13, MCG: Hawthorn 18. 10 (118) d. Carlton 13. 12 (90)
Bolton's first Friday night in charge and it was another searching battle. The Blues made a scrap of it until the Hawks put the foot down in the final quarter to run out 28-point winners. Bolton was Hawthorn's forward coach before replacing Clarkson and this was a fine night to show his wares, with 12 Hawthorn names on the goalkickers list at the end of the match.
R14, MCG: Hawthorn 17. 13 (115) d. Collingwood 13. 8 (86)
A tick over 74,000 fans watched the Hawks continue their dominance over the Pies in another hard-fought win. As was becoming a theme under Bolton, a single period of dominance proved the key, this time a four-goal run late in the third term pulling the Hawks away. It was the club's sixth consecutive victory over the Pies. Bolton had put heat on veteran midfielder Brad Sewell before the game, and Sewell responded, finishing with 26 touches, 11 of them contested, and seven inside 50s to be judged Hawthorn's best player.
R15, Aurora: Hawthorn 17. 14 (116) d. Gold Coast 10. 3 (63)
A serious hamstring injury to Cyril Rioli marred Bolton's last game as Hawthorn coach. At least the Hawks saw the interim coach off in the right spirit, ruthlessly going about their work to dominate the Suns by 53 points on a wet day in Launceston. A feature of the Hawks under Bolton was the team's spread of goalkickers and this day was no different with nine players registering majors. The Hawks would score under 100 points in only three games for the rest of the season. One of those came the following week when, on Alastair Clarkson's return to coaching, they lost to North Melbourne by 20 points.
