HAWTHORN has come out on top of a wild AFL encounter with Carlton in Launceston, the Hawks launching a stunning second-half rally to score a five-point win.
In chaotic scenes at University of Tasmania Stadium, the sides went toe-to-toe in a frantic final term on Sunday in front of 15,888 fans.
The Blues appeared to have one last shot at victory when Harry McKay marked just inside 50, but he was beaten by the final siren, the Hawks holding on for a thrilling 13.15 (93) to 13.10 (88) win.
A rattled Hawthorn trailed by as much as 36 points in the second quarter after a breathtaking start by Carlton.
Carrying on from last week’s breakthrough win over the Western Bulldogs, courageous Carlton played with dash, dare and enthusiasm that unsettled the Hawks in the first half.
Matthew Kreuzer encapsulated the spirit of the display with a brilliant running goal from inside the centre square to set up a 24-point quarter-time lead over the stunned Hawks.
But it was as if the players swapped jumpers at halftime as the Hawks woke from their slumber to slash the margin to just five points at three-quarter time after the Blues went into their shells in response.
To their credit, Brendon Bolton’s men found their mojo again in a pulsating final term, retaking the lead after a Chad Wingard goal put the Hawks in front for the first time.
Hawthorn appeared to put an entertaining contest beyond doubt with four unanswered goals but there was another twist with Sam Petrevski-Seton and Lachie O’Brien goaling to set up the stunning climax.
Jaeger O’Meara was sensational for Hawthorn with 43 possessions, while Liam Shiels booted three goals.
Patrick Cripps (28 possessions) and Sam Walsh (27) were superb for Carlton.
On another sour note for Carlton, milestone man Kade Simpson, who passed Stephen Silvagni to move into fourth on the club’s games played list, didn’t feature in the second half of his 313th game after suffering hamstring tightness.
© AAP 2019
HAWTHORN 2.3 3.3 8.9 13.15 (93)
CARLTON 6.3 8.4 9.8 13.10 (88)
Goals: Hawthorn: L Breust 3 L Shiels 3 C Wingard 2 J Cousins J O’Meara J Roughead M Lewis T Scully. Carlton: H McKay 2 L O’Brien 2 M McGovern 2 D Cuningham E Curnow J Silvagni L Casboult M Kreuzer P Dow S Petrevski-Seton.
Best: Hawthorn: J O’Meara L Shiels J Impey T Scully B McEvoy C Wingard. Carlton: P Cripps S Walsh S Petrevski-Seton D Thomas E Curnow M Kreuzer.
Official Crowd: 15,888 at University of Tasmania Stadium.
