MATCHES of significance for seasons and for eras can be in relatively unremarkable games. This might have been one. It was a victory that even coach Alastair Clarkson, a man not so much understated as without statement, was prepared to acknowledge was a critical moment for his team.

Three years without the sound of a happy team's song at the end of games with Sydney was a stretch that had become a phobia. Likewise, previous encounters in Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth against the Crows, Lions and Dockers had proved fruitless.

Much of Hawthorn's development has been deliberate and measured. So a measurement of development was to mark victories not only by number but type — defeat of teams with regular success over them.

Defeating Sydney yesterday was the final hurdle to clear. They now enter the finals — and with the top three sides 14 points clear of fourth they are certain to finish top four — comfortable in the knowledge they now have a clean sheet. This is not insignificant, for remember they also have a solid winning record against the reigning premier.

In the immediate sense, the win was as important in execution as final resolution. The victory told of a capacity to defeat a style of football as well as a certain side.

"We haven't beaten them since '03, so it is good to finally beat them because they are such a good side for so long so it was good to finally get one over them," Luke Hodge said. "It was always going to be a hard one-on-one game."

Clarkson agreed the issue was in confirming the strength of a group to win a type of match — winning an arm wrestle.

That style of game meant that while they were tilting Sydney's arm back in the arm wrestle, they could not slam them down. The Swans, without Barry Hall, lacked a focal point up forward, were unable to find anything meaningful from Henry Playfair, had limited input from Ryan O'Keefe and only Michael O'Loughlin was able to provide a target.

The Swans remained in touch, even after Hawthorn had edged to a 33-point lead in the third term and appeared likely to split the game open. It was at that point that Lance Franklin and Mark Williams were stretching the Swans wide.

Lewis Roberts-Thompson is nicknamed LRT, though this might be reviewed with the moniker The Banner considered. Why? Well everyone seems to want to go through him.

He began on Franklin and was thoroughly out-pointed before Craig Bolton was tried. When shifted on to Williams, he was taken to the goal square with the plan for the Hawks to direct all attack to Williams. Collingwood had employed a similar tactic on LRT last week, seeking to funnel all play through his opponent. So the Swans kept the defenders rotating to keep LRT high up the field, switching him constantly from Williams to Jarryd Morton.

Before long, Ted Richards, who began forward, was switched back and LRT tried as a forward before soon after warming the bench. This was not the first time these tactics have been successfully employed against the Swan and makes for a troubling question on where he goes now.

In that third term, the Swans began to clear the ball more effectively and carry it through the middle through Adam Goodes. Interestingly, in the final term, Hawthorn gave away two frees to Goodes for holding and bringing him down late in tackles after he had disposed of the ball running through the corridor. They were deliberate frees, actions designed to hold the Swans up. A free kick brought back to the mark was better than allowing the Swans run and momentum. Even with an advantage paid, it took Goodes out of the play. The ploy worked, the Swans were denied their one-two handball exchange and were stilted in their run.

"It was almost just putting pressure on to get their disposal to miss I guess, because they have a few numbers that run out and we were focused on putting as much pressure on them as we could. They put so much pressure on us we coughed it up a bit so we were trying to make them do the same," Hodge said.

In the final term, Hodge and Brad Sewell — quiet to that point — were instrumental in ensuring the victory.

Despite the Swans closing to 16 points at one stage, the Hawks were able to reply with three goals in four minutes, and ensure that what could have been a close one or two-kick game finished on their terms.

HAWTHORN 3.4 9.9 10.13 15.16 (106)
SYDNEY 2.4 4.6 8.9 10.15 (75)

GOALS Hawthorn: Franklin 4, Williams 4, Roughead 3, Hodge, Rioli, Taylor, Young. Sydney: Buchanan 2, O'Keefe 2, O'Loughlin 2, Goodes, McVeigh, Playfair, Smith.

BEST Hawthorn: Franklin, Williams, Hodge, Osborne, Young, Ladson. Sydney: Kirk, Goodes, Barry, J Bolton, O'Loughlin, Bevan.

INJURIES Hawthorn: Bateman (quad) replaced by Tuck. Sydney:Malceski (calf) replaced by Smith. Kennelly (shoulder).

UMPIRES McBurney, Rosebery, Sully, Ellis (emergency replaced Sully).

CROWD 49,529 at the MCG.

THE UPSHOT If it didn't already, Hawthorn can rest assured that a September double chance is a fait accompli. But the result of this match proved an upshot as much for the Hawks — who defeated a nemesis they had not overcome for three years — as much as for top-four aspirant Collingwood. While fourth-placed Sydney flunked its opportunity to close the gap on the third-placed Hawks, the Pies are now just two premiership points behind the Swans.

THE TALKING POINT For all of Lance Franklin's brilliance, his goalkicking can be brilliantly bad. Yesterday wasn't his record — the 2.11 he registered against the Western Bulldogs in round 21 last year will take some beating — but it went close. Franklin's 4.7 didn't tell the entire tale either. He had three other shots on goal that didn't even register — two out of bounds on the full, and one that didn't make the distance. Did he look overly stressed? You're kidding.

HOT COLD It was an underwhelming outing for Swan Ryan O'Keefe, on a day where his Barry Hall-less team needed its leading scorers to boot more than a couple of goals each. While he helped haul Sydney back in the third term, O'Keefe had some uncharacteristic fumbles throughout the match — though he wasn't alone there — and finished with a season-low 13 possessions.