It is appropriate that Hawthorn’s first game since the death of Allan Jeans is against Melbourne, as that club was the opponent in both Jeans’ first and last games as Hawthorn coach.

In Jeans’ first game in charge, Round 1 1981, all the hype was about Melbourne’s new coach, Ron Barassi, but it was the Hawks who scored a comfortable 41 point win - 23.15.153 to 16.16.112. The star of the day was new Hawthorn captain, Leigh Matthews, who kicked 11 goals.

At the end of 1990, Jeans’ final two Hawthorn games were also against Melbourne.  In Round 22, Hawthorn lost to the Demons by 12 points and the following week lost the Elimination Final to them by nine points, as Melbourne achieved a modicum of revenge for its losses to Hawthorn in the 1987 Preliminary and 1988 Grand Finals.



Altogether, 84 Hawthorn players were coached by Allan Jeans - 29 who had previously played before the start of 1981 and 55 who had not.

There were actually 56 players who debuted between 1981 and 1990; however, eight of those were in 1988 when Alan Joyce was caretaker coach, meaning 48 debuted under Jeans. Of the eight 1988 debutants, the only one not to play under Jeans in his 1989-90 spell in charge was an individual whose Hawthorn career only lasted three games in 1988 - Andrew Demetriou.

The first debutant under Jeans was South Australian star, Rick Davies, who debuted against Melbourne in Round 1 1981. The final Jeans-era debutant was Glenn Nugent who received two Brownlow votes for his opening appearance against Richmond in Round 16 1990.

There were six players whose career spanned the whole Jeans era, making their debuts before he arrived and playing their final games after his departure - Michael Tuck (1972-91), Robert Dipierdomenico (1975-91), Gary Ayres (1978-93), John Kennedy Jnr. (1979-91), Chris Mew (1980-92) and Peter Schwab (1980-91).



In his column in The Weekend Australian, Mick Malthouse commented of Jeans that “fifteen of his former football pupils have gone on to coach in the VFL/AFL. I am the only one to have coached against him”. In fact, there are a number of others who did so. 

The first was Ian Stewart who coached South Melbourne against the Jeans-coached Hawthorn in Round 3 1981. Jeans’ St Kilda Premiership captain, Darrel Baldock, also coached against him later in the 1980s. While Jeans was still at Hawthorn, his former Hawk players, Leigh Matthews (Collingwood) and Peter Knights (Brisbane Bears), coached against him and, when Jeans had his solitary season in charge of Richmond, their number was augmented by Gary Buckenara, then coaching Sydney.



Hawthorn has won its last seven matches against Melbourne. The second win of the sequence squared the ledger at 74-74 in the head-to-head battle between the clubs, for the first time since it was 0-0 in 1925. The subsequent four wins have put Hawthorn in front - 79 to 74.

The Hawks have a long way to go to equal the Club’s all-time best sequence against Melbourne which is 22 set between Round 13 1973 and Round 3 1984. This is Hawthorn’s best sequence of success against any opponent.



50 years ago, in Round 18 1961, the Hawks completed the 1961 home and away season with a tenth consecutive win, comfortably beating lowly Richmond by 25 points - 11.15.81 to 8.8.56. 

The first quarter was reasonably even, with one report suggesting the Tigers had matched Hawthorn “everywhere except in attack”. However, a five goal to one second term had the Hawks firmly in control. The second half was a messy affair and the Hawks really struggled to kick goals, particularly in the final term. One acerbic match report commented that “after a dismal display the timekeeper did spectators a favour when he blew the siren”.

The main bright spot for Hawthorn was Kevin Connell who “although roving to a beaten ruck, was brilliant around the packs” and capped his work with five goals, guaranteeing his position as second rover to Ian Law for the Finals. Other good players were McPherson, Kaine, Browne, Youren and Peck.

The real drama of the round was taking place elsewhere. A crowd of 42,015 packed the Western Oval to see Footscray push Geelong out of the Four, while across at the Junction Oval, St Kilda secured its first Finals’ appearance for 22 years, by hanging on to beat bottom team North Melbourne by five points.



That Round 18 game, 50 years ago, was also notable for the debut of David Parkin. It was the only game Parkin played in that Premiership winning season, but ten years later he was the captain when Hawthorn clinched its second Flag.



40 years ago, in Round 18 1971, Hawthorn suffered just its second loss for the season when going down by 32 points to Richmond in front of 47,931 fans at the MCG.

20 years ago, in Round 18 1991, Hawthorn also played Richmond, this time at Waverley. The Hawks struggled all day before edging out the lowly Tigers by just six points.



The most memorable Round 18 meeting between Hawthorn and Melbourne was in 1930 when Hawthorn scored its first ever win against Melbourne, a result which put Melbourne out of the Finals and has long been revered as one of the most famous wins in Hawthorn’s early VFL history. 

The final round of the home and away season was played on what seems to modern eyes the late date of 13 September (the Grand Final was on 11 October). The tenth placed Mayblooms were given little chance against a Melbourne side that needed a win to secure its spot in the Final Four. With Keith Sharpley kicking four, and Leo Murphy three, the Glenferrie Oval crowd saw a stunning 13 point upset win - 12.18.90 to 10.17.77. It tipped Melbourne out of the Finals and capped off a much improved season for Hawthorn under new captain-coach ‘Jiggy’ Harris, with the six wins clearly the best return from the Club’s six VFL seasons to date.



Hawthorn’s most recent Round 18 game against Melbourne was in 2004, Donald McDonald’s first game as caretaker coach. 



Hawthorn has played 83 Round 18 matches (there were no Round 18’s in 1925, 1942 or 1943) for the poor return of 32 wins and 51 defeats. The two worst sequences of Round 18 defeats were 12, from 1944 to 1955, and six from 2001 to 2006. The latter was mercifully ended by a 63 point win over Essendon at the MCG in 2007, followed by a 54 win over Collingwood in 2008. The losses returned in the last two seasons with consecutive losses to Port Adelaide at Football Park.



The leading individual goalkicker for Hawthorn against Melbourne is Peter Hudson who booted 16 in Round 5, 1969. Hudson also holds the Round 18 record with a tally of 9, kicked in 1970. His 9 came out of a team total of only 11, as the Hawks lost to St Kilda at Glenferrie by 25 points. The previous highest before Hudson had come 30 years earlier when Jim Bohan kicked eight in 1940.