HAWTHORN PLAYER RATINGS

Luke Hodge – 9.5/10 – Hodge is the total package – brilliant, fearless and inspirational. He was all three on Saturday, and his pair of second-quarter goals when the game was still in the balance sent the Hawks on their way. Enters exalted company in Gary Ayres and Andrew McLeod as the only two-time winners of the Norm Smith.

Sam Mitchell – 9/10 – Mitchell’s poise in the early going was key, especially in heavy traffic, and was again one of the Hawks prime movers.

Jordan Lewis – 9/10 – Capped off a great season with a great grand final. Thirty-seven touches made him the leading disposal getter on the ground, and was superb by hand and foot all day.

Jarryd Roughead – 8.5/10 – Not many blokes kick five goals in grand finals these days. Roughead had his radar on but perhaps a more important contribution was shaking Dan Hannebery’s world with a thunderous tackle in the early going.

Will Langford – 8.5/10 – How good will this kid be? His sensational third-quarter dribbler from the boundary sealed the deal.

Josh Gibson – 8/10 – Courageous effort. Gibson spent 10 minutes off in the second term with an ankle injury but game back to notch up 32 disposals and – as always – a few important spoils.

Brian Lake – 8/10 – Did a solid job on Buddy one-on-one when needed, but his best moment of the game came when he took a screamer over Kurt Tippett. A goal-saving tackle on Kieren Jack as the Swans were mounting a rare challenge just before half-time was key.

Brad Hill – 7.5/10 – Plenty of run as usual, and he kicked a nice goal early when the game was in the balance.

Shaun Burgoyne – 7.5/10 – His cool head was crucial early on when it was up for grabs. Terrific by foot, and he slotted two final-quarter goals when the heat was off.

Grant Birchall – 7/10 – Looked in trouble early with a leg injury, but shrugged it off to be an important player across half-back.

Jack Gunston – 7/10 – Couldn’t hit the target early, but ended up with two goals and his creativity was a constant threat.

Luke Breust – 7/10 – Ended with three goals, none more important than the first of the second quarter when he rose after copping a Dane Rampe knee to the temple.

Liam Shiels – 6.5/10 – Ferocious tackle on Josh Kennedy brought up the first shot of the game and helped set the scene for the physical pressure to follow. Great defensively and finished with 22 touches.

Ben McEvoy – 6/10 – Mike Pyke dominated the hit-outs, but both McEvoy and partner in crime David Hale did their bit.

David Hale – 6/10 – Another who put some early heat on Hannebery. Not his best game, but serviceable as always.

Paul Puopolo – 6/10 – Tackling was a nuisance as per usual, and was busy around the ground.

Isaac Smith – 6/10 – Quiet by his standards, finishing with 17 touches.

Cyril Rioli – 6/10 – His tackling and a high fly early were electric, but faded as the game went on. More impact than his nine touches suggest: made the Swans defenders lose their cool on a number of occasions.

Ben Stratton – 6/10 – Finished with 22 touches in an unobtrusive performance. Solid on Goodes.

Matt Spangher – 6/10 – Good one-on-one with whoever he happened to find himself on. Well deserved flag for a bloke who’s had to work hard for his chance.

Matthew Suckling – 6/10 – Pretty quiet, but found himself on the end of one of the best passages of play for the day to snap a goal that put the Hawks well out in the third quarter.

Taylor Duryea – 5/10 – Nine touches after replacing Rioli as the sub.

SYDNEY PLAYER RATINGS

Josh Kennedy – 8/10 – Kicked a beauty to open the scoring and battled manfully all day. Got precious little support from his midfield mates.

Lance Franklin – 8/10 – Copped some physical stuff from both Brian Lake and Josh Gibson, but fought on to be among his team’s best. Finished with four goals.

Nick Malceski – 7/10 – Seemed the only Sydney defender able to keep his cool during the onslaught, although even he turned it over a bit under the pressure. Finished with 26 touches.

Adam Goodes – 7/10 – Tried to respond to the physical pummelling halfway through the second term, but needed more support.

Kieren Jack – 6/10 – Swans midfielders fall away badly after Kennedy, but Jack was probably the best of them. Tried hard, but no real impact.

Nick Smith – 5/10 – Didn’t live up to his All-Australian form, but wasn’t the worst in an under-siege backline.

Kurt Tippett – 5/10 – Certainly not the Swans’ worst. Battled hard around the ground, but was twice outwitted by Rioli, with both leading to goals.

Ben McGlynn – 5/10 – Nice goal to start the second term, and his tackling was good.

Dan Hannebery – 5/10 – Took a battering early and felt it. Finished with 20 touches and five tackles, but was exposed.

Mike Pyke – 5/10 – Bossed the hitouts and took a strong mark, but not enough value for money around the ground from the big man.

Harry Cunningham – 5/10 – Used to negate Isaac Smith early and played his part.

Rhyce Shaw – 4/10 – Found the footy often, but his disposal – as with many of his teammates – lacked class.

Luke Parker – 4/10 – Ended up with 20 touches, although you’d be hard pressed to recall many.

Ted Richards – 4/10 – Took a brilliant mark over Jarryd Roughead and fought it out gamely. The enduring memory of Richards from this game will be of him going crook at his misfiring teammates.

Dane Rampe – 3/10 – Met his match in Gunston. Couldn’t fault his effort, but couldn’t go with the Hawks’ sharpshooter.

Sam Reid – 3/10 – Surely a case of arrested development for Reid this season. Looked all at sea.

Heath Grundy – 3/10 – Won’t enjoy the replay of Bradley Hill’s first-quarter goal. Struggled.

Craig Bird – 3/10 – Came on as the sub for a concussed Lewis Jetta and eventually replaced Jake Lloyd. Threw himself into his work, but for little reward.

Jarrad McVeigh – 2/10 – Stinker from the skipper. Couldn’t find the footy and on the rare occasions when he did, couldn’t find a teammate.

Jake Lloyd – 2/10 – Had 11 touches in his first grand final.

Lewis Jetta – 1/10 – Touchless first quarter, head knock in the second. Four touches for the match. A shadow of the explosiveness of two years ago.

Gary Rohan – 1/10 – Expected big things after he ripped up North Melbourne, but he was nowhere. Embarrassingly fumbled a running bounce in the third quarter, which summed up his day.