A late Jarryd Roughead major has snapped Hawthorn's three-game losing streak, with a narrow three-point win over Port Adelaide at University of Tasmania Stadium keeping the Hawks in touch with the top-eight.
The Hawks led by 11 points at the final change, yet three goals to the Power swung the momentum - and lead - back in their favour, before the Hawthorn skipper regained the ascendancy.
Shaun Burgoyne (26 disposals, eight clearances) and Tom Mitchell (28, two goals) were prolific throughout the Hawks' midfield, but were certainly put to the test thanks to Justin Westhoff and Robbie Gray, who finished with a combined 33 touches and five goals.
It didn't take long for Burgoyne and Gray to make their presence felt in the first term, although they each achieved it in completely different ways.
The Hawthorn veteran was placed on report early in the first term for rough conduct on Jared Polec following an attempted tackle to pin the Port defender to the ground, potentially placing his 350th match in two week's time in jeopardy.
Gray however was damaging on the scoreboard, putting through two goals for the term which highlighted both his fluid foot skills and ability to work around heavy traffic.
The 30-year-old veteran was fundamental to Port's scoring with his two goals and subsequent assists, but Charlie Dixon too was explosive in the first, chalking up four inside 50s and two goal assists.
Dixon and Gray combined to boot Port's first, with the former cutting off a Hawthorn transition out of defence before feeding the ball to Gray, who sidestepped Jack Gunston with ease and kicked true.
New recruit Jack Watts was just as influential with two majors of his own, before Justin Westhoff made it five rapid-fire Port Adelaide goals for the quarter.
A major to Mitchell off the back of a 50m penalty served as the only reprieve for the Hawks, who ended the quarter 24 points down and were stunned by Port Adelaide's ability win the centre clearances (1-5) and subsequently find space.
But the Hawks showed all the dominance in the following quarter, kicking four unanswered goals to level the scores at the major break.
The home side found themselves with much more room, with their short hit-up passes allowing them to control the ball far better and dictate the play on their terms.
With Paddy Ryder dominating the ruck contests, Ben McEvoy sought to make his impact up forward, slotting the first of the term within the opening minute.
As Paul Puopolo showed his crumbing skills on the goal line with the Hawks' second, before two back-to-back 50m penalties resulted in Mitchell swinging the momentum back into the home side's favour.
While Mitchell finished the term with 21 touches and was a thorn in Port's side, it was the 50m penalties which irritated them more, with eight going against the visitors for the entire game.
The agitation was only exacerbated further after ex-Power man Jarman Impey put through the Hawks' fourth for the quarter, seeing scores tied at the major break.
Port managed to stay within the hunt in the third term despite being outscored two goals to one, thanks to their strong clearance and contested ball work.
Yet the Hawks had control of the ball, with their short chip-kicks around the ground allowing them to roam free and load off some of the pressure.
Liam Shiels was the main benefactor as Mitchell took a back seat thanks to a Tom Rockliff tag, racking up nine touches for the quarter, one score assist and three marks.
Outmarking the Power for the term 55-8, Hawthorn's decision-making and added composure afforded opportunities for Burgoyne and McEvoy to extend the lead, both of whom duly converted.
But it was Gray who kicked the best of the lot, with a superb crumb among the forward 50 congestion and capping it off with a goal on his opposite foot.
The margin sitting at seven points by three-quarter time, it was anyone's game as the hunt to remain relevant in the latter half of the season came into play.
Port looked set to storm home with a seamless coast-to-coast major to open the term; the fluent passage play from Jake Neade and Chad Wingard across half-back allowing Watts to stroll in and cut the margin down to just one point.
As Luke Breust and Dixon exchanged goals in what was a tense 10 minutes of play, it would take Gray's fourth to steer the Power in front by five points with seven minutes left to play.
Despite the Hawks dominating the inside 50 count (59-38), a goal to put them back in the lead seemed to be elusive as the Port defence stood firm.
But with four minutes on the clock, a free kick paid against Tom Clurey for high contact gifted Roughead the most crucial major of the match.
Up by just a slender point, it didn't take long for the ball to land back in the Hawks' forward 50.
A Dougal Howard fumble from the resulting forward entry and a quick slap through the behinds to make amends was deemed deliberate, yet Jack Gunston's miss kept the door ajar for the Power with three minutes to spare.
One last minor score from Breust closed out the game, with the final margin resting at three points and the Hawks remaining in 10th position, albeit now on par with the ninth-placed Power in terms of points.
Hawthorn will have a chance to prepare for the second half of the season with the bye scheduled for next week, while Port Adelaide will face Richmond in a do-or-die clash at Adelaide Oval next Friday night.
HAWTHORN 1.2 5.3 7.7 9.10 (64) PORT ADELAIDE 5.2 5.3 6.6 9.7 (61)
GOALS Hawthorn: Mitchell 2, McEvoy 2, Impey, Burgoyne, Puopolo, Breust, Roughead Port Adelaide: Gray 4, Watts 3, Westhoff, Dixon
BEST Hawthorn: Burgoyne, Gunston, Mitchell, Shiels, Sicily Port Adelaide: Westhoff, Ryder, Gray, Jonas, Motlop
INJURIES Hawthorn: Nil Port Adelaide: Nil
TALKING POINTS
1. SILK REPORTED, MILESTONE DELAY UNLIKELY
Shaun Burgoyne have somewhat of a nervous wait after being reported for rough conduct in the opening stages of the game.
The 349-game veteran was placed on report after attempting to tackle a downed Jared Polec, with his 350th match against Adelaide next fortnight having the potential to be put off for another week.
Although the incident will come under MRO review, the contact shouldn't warrant enough force or impact to see Silk miss a week.
The collision didn't seem to faze Polec or Burgoyne, with the latter ending the first term with eight disposals and four clearances against his name.
Silky smooth.
2. DOUGAL DELIBERATE?
With the Hawks up by a point with just over four minutes of play remaining, every play was pivotal from then on and any mistake from either side could be costly.
Unfortunately for the Power, they were the ones to concede the first error.
As the ball flew into the Hawks' attacking 50 just moments after Jarryd Roughead's match-winning goal, Dougal Howard spilled the mark and knocked the ball through the behinds to prevent any chance of a goal.
Although in the 10m protected area, Howard wasn't under enough pressure for the decision to be deemed a fair rushed behind, giving Jack Gunston a shot on goal to ice the game.
Gunston's subsequent miss nonetheless kept Port's hopes of one final goal alive, however only a Hawthorn behind ended up being the only other score squeezed in during the final three minutes.
A tight call, but one which shows the legitimacy of the deliberate rushed behind rule.
3. 50M MADNESS
Port Adelaide would undoubtedly have some questions over some of the 50m penalties which were paid against them in today's clash against the Hawks.
Out of the 11 50m penalties conceded at University of Tasmania Stadium, eight went against the visitors - two of which were paid back-to-back, and another which resulted in another goal to the Hawks.
The number of 50m penalties was the greatest ever in a single AFL match, and considering 54 free kicks were paid on the day, it's quite a sizeable chunk which were attributed to football's equivalent of a cardinal sin.
4. ROCKLIFF NEGATES THE MITCHELL THE MAGNET
As he has been for most of the season, Tom Mitchell was racking up the ball with absolute ease, with 15 of his 21 possessions by half-time uncontested.
Despite showing no signs of slowing down, the Power managed to pull off one of the trickiest feats in the modern game and kept the Hawthorn midfielder to just seven disposals for the remainder of the game.
Tom Rockliff - who was having an exceptionally quiet game himself with just the five touches at the major break - managed to nullify Mitchell in the latter half of the match, and helped in stifling Hawthorn's move through the midfield.
One-all draw.
5. POWER SURGE NOT ENOUGH AS HAWKS HOG BALL
Despite their rampaging five-goal start and winning the clearance count (27-40) thanks in part to Paddy Ryder's dominance in the ruck, Port Adelaide were still unable to pull away from the Hawks and take the four points.
Hawthorn's ability to find space and accumulate uncontested ball proved to be a crucial part in their success, finishing with 46 more marks than their opposition.
Their possessive style of football saw an additional 21 inside 50s to that of the Power.
Able to hit up short targets and chew time off the clock, Hawthorn's cleverness with ball in hand was arguably the most telling factor in their narrow win.
The old adage of "brain over brawn" holds true.
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