Advertisement

AFL-Hawthorn beats West Coast to win Australia's AFL grand final

MELBOURNE, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Hawthorn thrashed West Coast by 46 points in the Australian Football League grand final on Saturday to join an elite group of clubs to win three successive AFL titles. Playing in front of almost 100,000 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Hawks cemented their place as one of the AFL's most successful teams, romping to a 16.11 (107) to 8.13 (61) victory. For the Melbourne-based Hawks, it was their 13th premiership overall in the uniquely Australian football code, a highly combative and fast-moving sport which includes similar skills needed for rugby, basketball and Gaelic football. Hawthorn became just the fifth club to win at least three titles in a row, a rare feat in a competition dating back to 1897. Carlton (1906-08) was the first team to win three straight. Collingwood won a record four on the trot from 1927-30. Melbourne did it twice (1939-41 and 1955-57) while the Brisbane Lions (2001-03) are the only other team to complete the hat-trick in the last half-century. "I couldn't be prouder," Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge said. "We had an up and down year at time, but to continuously stand up in the big occasions, I'm absolutely rapt." Despite their outstanding record, Hawthorn went into Saturday's grand final with plenty of questions marks after losing to West Coast by 32 points in the first round of the playoffs. The Perth-based Eagles were appearing in their sixth grand final, having won the flag in 1992, 1994 and 2006. West Coast finished the regular season as the number one team and were brimming with confidence ahead of the opening bounce. They even managed to score the first goal of the match but Hawthorn kicked the next nine in a row and were never challenged, leading by 19 points after the opening quarter, 31 at halftime then 50 at the last interval. Jack Gunston led the way for Hawthorn with four goals while Isaac Smith booted three and Cyril Rioli two. Rioli was later awarded the Norm Smith Medal as the best player on the field, continuing a family tradition. His late uncle Maurice Rioli won the medal playing for Richmond in the 1982 grand final. Another of his uncles, Michael Long, won the medal in 1993, playing for Essendon. (Reporting by Julian Linden in Singapore; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)