IT WAS a win delivered by The Package and signed for by the kid, Phoenix Gothard.

Five goals from Jake Stringer steered an injury-hit Greater Western Sydney to a surprise 27-point win over Hawthorn at a humid Engie Stadium on Saturday.

The Hawks came hard late, kicking the first three goals of the final term to make decent headway into the 40-point lead, but debutant Gothard – who has waited until his third AFL season to play his first game – kicked a beautiful curling goal with three minutes left on the clock to seal the deal.

GIANTS v HAWKS Full match coverage and stats

Star recruit Clayton Oliver (27 touches) appeared to have locked the game away late in the third quarter with a stunning bouncing effort from the boundary, but Jack Gunston and Nick Watson made sure of a few final-term nerves in the 19.8 (122) to 14.11 (95) result.

The seconds before the opening ball-up featured an ‘orange tsunami’ siren at Engie Stadium, and it was an omen of things to come, as the Giants piled on five straight goals in less than eight minutes.

Among the onlookers were Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Hollywood legend Tom Hanks, who witnessed an incredibly high-scoring first term, with 83 points put on by both sides, pushing out the run time to a touch over 37 minutes.

Jesse Hogan brought up his 400th career AFL major with his third in the period, while the smalls – Jack Ginnivan, Watson and Sam Butler – kept the Hawks in touch.

Josh Weddle was thrown into the middle late in the second term in an attempt to shake things up for Hawthorn as the game began to slip away, but was back in defence to open the third; GWS' well-balanced forward line finding plenty of space in attack and converting accurately in front of the big sticks.

Stringer, Hogan and Jake Riccardi all had three apiece to half-time, with the Hawks’ defence often caught in two minds – either pushing up too high and leaving space out the back or a step behind their opponent – and the Giants took a 35-point lead to the main break.

Jack Ginnivan earned a 50m penalty against Toby Greene for a touchy stand infraction, much to his delight, delivering a shove to the chest of his fellow antagonist.

The GWS skipper was otherwise remarkably well-behaved, playing well through the midfield throughout the match, his smarts when entering 50 with ball in hand on show over the four quarters.

Sam Mitchell came down to coach from the bench in the third term as Hawthorn chipped away at the margin. Mabior Chol soared high and helped drag the margin back from 40 to 21, but that was the closest the Hawks managed.

The Giants' spread and burst from contest was particularly impressive, with Finn Callaghan shaking off any concerns from his hip flexor injury with 26 disposals, while Oliver was particularly strong in the contest with a game-high nine clearances.

Fresh-faced Giants cover the gaps
Young mid-sized defender Joe Fonti showed a dangerous combination of dash and poise in his rebound down the field, and was excellent in the first half when the game was in the balance. Harry Rowston bobbed up in key moments throughout the match, including kicking a crucial goal late in the third when the Hawks had closed to 21 points, celebrating as soon as the ball left his boot. Debutant Phoenix Gothard had a few sparky moments, and while initially appearing outsized, stood tall in the final minutes. While much more experienced than some of his teammates, recruit Jayden Laverde was very steady behind the ball.

Stuttering Hawks go missing
GWS well and truly had Hawthorn covered when it came to getting hands on the ball. With the game-winning lead built before the fourth term started, the individual numbers at three-quarter time tell a much more relevant story than the final statistics. The dangerous Dylan Moore had just seven touches, Conor Nash – albeit no longer first-choice in the centre square, with Connor Macdonald preferred – sat at 11, Karl Amon at 12 and Jarman Impey on eight.

A very special guest
While the Hawks were not quite up to their normal Hollywood standard, the glitz and glamour was brought by Tom Hanks, possibly the least likely answer to "guess who I saw at Engie Stadium?" In town to shoot Greyhound 2, Hanks watched on and took great delight in the goal umpires' signal for a major, and got to hear the “Big" big sound in action.

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY     8.3    13.4    18.6    19.8 (122)
HAWTHORN                                 5.2     7.5     11.7    14.11 (95)

GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Stringer 5, Hogan 3, Riccardi 3, Gruzewski 2, Coniglio 2, Brown, Rowston, Oliver, Gothard
Hawthorn: Gunston 4, Butler 2, Chol 2, Ginnivan 2, Watson 2, Meek, Lewis

BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Stringer, Callaghan, Oliver, Coniglio, Fonti, Himmelberg
Hawthorn: Newcombe, Sicily, Weddle, Watson, Ward

INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Nil
Hawthorn: Nil

Crowd: 16,157 at Engie Stadium