IF LAST night's game was to be judged on how it was played between the 50-metre arcs, then you would give it to Hawthorn for its domination in the final quarter. It was the performance inside their attacking zone, however, that enabled the Hawks to deliver the heavy punches throughout the night.

It does not need to be detailed here that, across the ground, the Hawks are a classy outfit. Yes, questions remain about their defence, but through the middle and up forward the Hawks are up there with the best in the league.

But once again being forced to cover for some serious deficiencies through the middle — Chance Bateman and Brad Sewell out injured, Jordan Lewis coming off with a leg problem in the second quarter and both Luke Hodge and Shane Crawford showing signs of trouble throughout the game — it was the finishing ability of Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead that really put the home side a head above the visiting Eagles.

Of Hawthorn's 36 scoring shots, 17 were delivered by the two key forwards, for a return of 72 points — more than half the Hawks' score.

At the other end, the Eagles enjoyed no such luxury.

When they went direct they enjoyed more success than when they skirted around the 50-metre arc, but they still lacked easily identifiable targets like the key duo in brown and gold. Ashley Hansen and Adam Hunter did serviceable jobs, with four goals and one goal, respectively, but the Eagles midfield, unlike their opponents, had little sense of purpose going into attack.

The simplicity of the Hawks' forward line — Franklin and Roughead one-out in space against their opponents — reflected the clarity of purpose when Hawthorn moved the ball out of the middle. Time and again, Hawk runners were able to load up from outside 50, confident that one of their two towers would be waiting to receive it.

Often, they'd be one-out, at other times the two would work together, one flying for the ball while the other positioned himself in front, ready for any crumbs. As if this in itself were not enough to defy football convention — we have become used to Franklin showing the prowess around his feet usually reserved for those a foot shorter than he — last night the two readily swapped roles when required, with Roughead neatly gathering a spilt ball from the pack midway through the second quarter and rolling it through for his fourth goal of the night. Time and again it happened, one flying while the other lurked for the loose ball, and it resulted in a goal often enough for the Hawks not to rue the lack of a small crumber — ostensibly Cyril Rioli, who spent much of his night roaming up the ground rather than waiting by the goals.

Amidst the unfolding of what has well and truly emerged as one of our game's more impressive double acts, there played out another little sub-plot. After two relatively quiet weeks, which yielded a uniquely Buddy-like return of 2.9, last night was the night that Lance Franklin got his groove back.

With five goals last night taking his season tally to 66, Franklin is still well on track to nab the Coleman this season, and break the ton while he's at it. But with 46 for the year, Roughead is not out of the running either, and you get the feeling that if either of them takes the prize, they'll have each other to thank for the help they received along the way.