AT FIRST glance, Hawthorn's 51-point victory over Essendon at the Telstra Dome looks a regulation win for the competition's leading team against a struggling opponent that fell to its eighth straight loss last night.

But the scoreboard does not reflect the Bombers' competitive and entertaining first half, nor does it tell you that ultimately Lance Franklin's extreme talents provided the difference between the teams.

In the opening half it was Franklin's five goals that kept Hawthorn in front of an enthusiastic Bombers unit. His presence dominated the forward line. Pitted against young Bomber Patrick Ryder, Franklin was just a step too quick, too strong and too smart. The young Hawk was aided by superb delivery from his teammates but "Buddy" possess all the tricks.

His opening goal 20 minutes into the first quarter, a glorious left snap around his body, got Hawthorn going. For the rest of the night he showed he could kick goals no matter the situation, whether on a lead or caught in a man-on-man contest, Franklin had all the answers. By the end of the night he had booted nine goals, equalling his career-best tally, kicked against the Bombers last year.

The Hawks were forced to battle a sluggish start. They are an efficient, well-drilled team, but in the opening stages of the first quarter their normally clean disposal deserted them.

From the opening bounce Essendon looked the more desperate and was prepared to run hard to find space in its forward line and get numbers back into its defence. In a frenetic and occasionally sloppy start, Essendon opened with goals to Sam Lonergan and Matthew Lloyd to establish an early 12-point lead.

Hawthorn's opening goal came courtesy of Tim Clarke and a 50-metre penalty from veteran defender Dustin Fletcher, who ran over the mark, gifting an easy goal to the Hawks. The Bombers, however, squandered their early dominance through sloppy play, missing easy shots on goal and dropping marks in their forward zone that would have allowed more shots at goal.

Good teams make their opponents pay for such misses and the Hawks made sure that Essendon's failure to capitalise on its early control came back to hurt it later in the match. Essendon had tested the Hawks in the opening half and showed there was a way around the famed cluster of defenders Hawthorn has used to great use in the opening half of the season. The Bombers were patient, prepared at times to hold the ball in order to find their way through the Hawks defensive group.

Andrew Lovett was sensational in the opening half. He went head-to-head with Chance Bateman in the first term, but the two barely crossed paths and were effective players for their respective sides, both instrumental in setting up attacking plays for their teams.

Lovett was used to great effect by the Bombers, who allowed him to run in front of the Hawks' cluster and create goals.

But Bateman caused as many headaches for Essendon and in the end, Matthew Knights sent Kyle Reimers to run with Bateman. It had little impact as Bateman continued to win the ball on his wing and set up attacks. Hawthorn welcomed back Luke Hodge after more than a month out with a hamstring injury and he took no time to settle back into the elite football. Hodge, along with inspirational skipper Sam Mitchell — who continues to win the ball from under the packs — and Michael Osborne in the middle of the ground, all worked well with their ruckmen Robert Campbell and Simon Taylor.

At half-time just seven points separated the sides. Essendon needed to find a solution to its Franklin problem but Knights persisted with Ryder into the second half.

Although Fletcher had held Jarryd Roughead for much of the night, his occasional forays towards Franklin had yielded no better results than the Ryder match-up. Franklin out bustled Fletcher for goals just before and after the half-time break and it was plain there was no stopping Buddy.

Hawthorn put the winning break into the game in the opening minutes of the third quarter after the Bombers edged to within a point following an Angus Monfries goal at the start of the term.

Franklin chipped in with two important goals and Roughead finally got himself on the board, and the margin quickly extended to 20 points.

And with that the Hawks got some room to move, their class and extra talent was finally allowed to come to the fore.

HAWTHORN 4.3 9.5 15.11 19.16 (130)
ESSENDON 3.3 8.4 10.7 12.7 (79)

GOALS Hawthorn: Franklin 9, Hodge 3, Roughead 3, Clarke, Boyle, Osborne, Young. Essendon: Lucas 3, Winderlich 2, Lloyd 2, Lonergan, Monfries, Reimers, Pears, McPhee.

BEST Hawthorn: Franklin, Hodge, Bateman, Mitchell, Osborne, Taylor. Essendon: Lovett, Fletcher, McVeigh, Stanton, Houli.

INJURIES Hawthorn: Bateman (corked thigh), Campbell (cut knee). Essendon: Nash (concussion). Laycock (ankle) replaced in selected side by Bellchambers.

UMPIRES McBurney, Avon, Mollison.

CROWD 46,377 at Telstra Dome.

THE UPSHOT The Bombers battled valiantly for two and a half quarters and but for a few missed opportunities in the first five minutes, could have had a much stronger presence on the scoreboard, but in the end it was the usual suspects who turned it on for the Hawks, with Hodge and Franklin forming a lethal combination to take the game away in convincing fashion.

TALKING POINT He's had a big week, Lance Franklin. First he landed in the news for all the wrong reasons, then last night he made the kind of statement that rings loudly in the ears of football fans, kicking 9.5 in a dominant display.

HOT AND COLD Playing his first game back from five weeks out with a hamstring, Luke Hodge was in stellar form, dominating out of the centre and kicking three goals, and racking up 22 touches. He's had an excellent debut to his career, but it may be time for young Cyril Rioli to have a rest. He got himself into the right position on a number of occasions but was just not able to finish off, kicking three behinds.