ANTHONY Albanese drew most of the attention inside Marvel Stadium, but the Prime Minister wasn't the only Australian leader embedded in Hawthorn's camp on Thursday night. 

North Queensland Cowboys coach Todd Payten was tucked away inside Sam Mitchell's coaching box to witness the Hawks reignite their season after three straight losses in a convincing 22-point win over the Western Bulldogs.  

BULLDOGS v HAWKS Full match coverage and stats

Mitchell has formed a bond this year with the NRL coach, trading ideas and intellectual property with Payten, using the feedback to improve himself as a coach, just like he has with Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postocoglou across his coaching journey. 

Greater Western Sydney coach Adam Kingsley has also created an informal partnership with Canterbury Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo, while most AFL coaches have spent time learning from legendary rugby league coach Craig Bellamy.

While the cameras narrowed on Albanese and Hawks president Andy Gowers across the broadcast – and didn't miss the PM in the rooms watching the song – Payten slipped out undetected ahead of the Cowboys' clash against the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park on Friday night. 

"The boys were making a bit of a joke that I had him just to make sure they tackled well because if not they might get tackled by him. No, Todd and I have struck up a bit of a relationship together," Mitchell said after the win. 

"I spent a bit of time in the pre-season with them and went and looked in their coaches box in a practice match against Melbourne Storm down in Casey. I shadowed him for a day and just learned about how they go about things. You can learn things from other codes. 

"They've got the Storm tomorrow night so I had him along. He was part of the preparation for the game. I'm looking forward to chatting to him about what he learned, but more importantly for me, what he thinks we can improve on and how we can do things better. 

"He has a fairly different demeanour to what I have. Learning from him is something I have taken a lot of growth from my coaching from Todd. I'm looking forward to hearing what he thought tonight."

After being smashed in the tackle count and pressure ratings over the past fortnight against Collingwood and Brisbane, Hawthorn responded on Thursday night, winning most metrics, including tackles, contest and territory, much to the frustration of Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge.

"I think that will be the first question of the review. If the opposition coach said we were too physical, that's a pretty good blueprint to win most games. That's certainly what we will be intending to do in most games," Mitchell said.

Sam Butler produced an inspiring return 418 days after his most recent AFL appearance, showing he can still perform at the top level after recovering from the horrific broken leg that ended his 2024 campaign in April. 

Mitchell lauded the mental resilience of the 22-year-old who broke both the fibula and tibia in his leg in a VFL game at Box Hill City Oval, before returning as a midfielder, where he earned a spot in Hawthorn's best 23 and finished with 14 disposals and five tackles in an encouraging return. 

"'Butsy' is a great story," Mitchell said. 

"He is a great young lad who works enormously hard. He has probably had some doubts over this period. When you come back from a broken leg, if you've experienced it personally or had someone close to you who has, it's not a smooth process like a knee reconstruction where there is a step-by-step process. A broken leg is a different beast. Some of the setbacks that he has had is an enormous resilience builder for him. 

"I was so proud of him to play AFL footy at all, let alone to perform at AFL footy. I thought he was really good tonight. That was at the top range of what we thought he might be capable of; he has a great engine; great work rate; great tackler; he has played three games as a midfielder in five years, so to get that performance out of him was better than we thought. I was absolutely rapt for him and it's a story that we should celebrate."

Peter Crimmins Medallist James Worpel copped a corked leg early in the game and was eventually substituted out of the game in the third quarter after battling through for as long as possible, before Changkuoth Jiath was activated. 

"It was one of those things you wouldn't have seen unless you knew what happened. In the first four or five minutes of the game he got a corkie," he said.

"He tried so hard he actually was enormous for what he did for two and a half quarters, but after half-time he couldn't get warmed up, he couldn't get going. 

"To even stay out there for that long he did an amazing job, so when you go and watch it back, the behind the goal stuff he was trying not to limb, but he battled away all night and did a great job for us. It got the better of him halfway through the forward."

Worpel isn't considered in any doubt to make the trip to Launceston next week to face Adelaide, while Jack Scrimshaw was managed due to a back issue and Nick Watson missed due to illness. Both are expected to be available for the game at University of Tasmania Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Western Bulldogs are now 1-6 against top eight sides in 2025 and sit a game outside the eight after back-to-back losses have taken the gloss off a positive start to the season in the face of personnel problems. 

Beveridge was left to lament a slow start off the mid-season bye, where the Bulldogs conceded five of the six first quarter goals, amid a game where they punished on turnover. 

"I've been talking to the players about making the leap into the top upper echelon, which means through the lines in the team we've got to make more than just little increments in improvement, we've got to make big ones," Beveridge told reporters.

"I always think that to make the leap into the top part of the competition if you are getting beaten by 15 and 20 points here and there, it's more than that. The margin on the scoreboard sometimes doesn't tell the full story. Whether it's not providing enough chances; 18 inside 50s in the first half just isn't going to be enough, it means our forwards are stale they can't get into any sort of rhythm. 

"What we have done in recent times against some of the better teams in the pressure of the game is turn the ball over too often and too blatantly. It's hard to get momentum in the game when you're doing that too often; that's skill, that's game sense, some of it’s a surprise, some of it isn't, depending on who does it."

Bulldogs star Sam Darcy is a chance to return next Thursday night against St Kilda after missing the past two months with a knee injury, but the key forward still needs to tick a few boxes before being cleared. 

At 6-6, the Dogs sit just in ninth spot on the ladder, but have four teams outside the eight to come over the next month in Richmond, Sydney and North Melbourne after the Saints in round 14.