ENGIE STADIUM -- Hawthorn is through to week two of the finals after surviving a wild GWS comeback. The Hawks led by as much as 42 points before the Giants flipped the game on its head -- even hitting the front in the final term -- only for Hawthorn to steady late and win by 19 points.
Here are three things we learned from the game:
Hawks' composed start was enough to be the difference
Hawthorn started with precision and composure, while their opponents did not, and it showed on the scoreboard. In blustery conditions in Sydney's west, it was the Hawks who nailed their chance early, with seven straight set shots going through the big sticks before they first missed from a set play.
Jack Gunston, Jack Ginnivan, and Connor Macdonald were among the early beneficiaries.
In fact, the Hawks kicked a staggering 11.3 in the first half and made the Giants' tall defence look lost. Macdonald was everywhere with three first-half goals, while Hawthorn's pressure up the ground caused chaos for GWS's usually-slick ball movement.
"Yeah, look, we were under the pump there down back in the [first 10 minutes of the first] half," Hawks defender Tom Barrass told ESPN post-game.
"GWS are a quality opposition... our job is to hold up in times of stress, and we did that. The back six are really finding their cohesion and learning how each other plays. Then the mids got it going and kicked plenty."
That forward momentum, off the back of strong defensive setups, had the Giants rattled. Every time the home side tried to transition, the Hawks' defensive wall stood tall and forced turnovers. They looked in complete control, and the accuracy in front of the big sticks quickly inflated the margin to dangerous areas.
For a long time, it felt like it would be a blowout.
Giants left themselves too much to do
But, the Giants weren't going to lie down without a fight. The problem? They just left themselves too much to do.
Finishing with 72 inside 50s to Hawthorn's 52, GWS had the chances but the execution killed them. In the opening 13 minutes, they had 12 entries for just two behinds. By full time, they'd kicked a goal from just 18% of inside 50s.
Poor decisions and composure let them down. Aaron Cadman playing on after marking well inside 50, only to miss, summed up their night. The usually reliable Lachie Ash struggled to hit targets, and their running patterns were broken all over the ground.
And while they came hard late, the game-high margin of 42 points was just too much to overcome. The Giants threw everything at Hawthorn but it was too little, too late, and late goals to the Hawks came off the back of tired Giants legs who'd spent their tickets just getting back into the match.
It's another chapter in the book of poor finals performances for the Giants after two shock losses from winnable positions last year. The last time they won a final was in their impressive 2023 finals run.
Hawthorn, meanwhile, will continue to travel with its Hollywood Hawks flair. They absorbed the pressure, executed their game plan, and when it counted most, they held their nerve.
Super sub nearly flipped the script
Darcy Jones and Finn Callaghan were the only two Giants looking likely to force a contest in the first half. But when Jones was subbed off with a suspected ACL, things looked even more dire for GWS.
Enter: Josh Kelly.
Injected as the sub, Kelly lit up the third quarter with 14 disposals and two goals, sparking the Giants to life. Both goals triggered renditions of 'Hey Jude' from the home fans, but it wasn't just noise, it was belief.
Hawthorn may have started mentally packing their bags to Adelaide, as the Giants started a run of seven unanswered goals. They turned a 42-point deficit into a one-point lead, and Kelly's third term was the highest-rated quarter by any Giant in a final. But the energy they used to get back into the game left little in the tank for the finish.
"We underestimated that run... it was quality football," Barrass admitted.
"They were kicking goals from stoppage, from turnover - quality goals. That's what happens in big games against good sides."
But as quickly as the momentum swung, it swung back. Ginnivan and Chol both scored two final-quarter goals to help settle the Hawks, who fly on into the second week of September.