BEFORE the Demons broke through their banner, David Neitz held them in a tight huddle for more than a minute, delivering a message about attitude and putting their best foot forward without him at the helm.

Football coaches would have you believe they never use emotion to inspire players, claiming it merely distracts from the prime objectives of doing the basics right and sticking to the game plan.

Whatever Neitz's exact words, you can safely bet he was light on such things as structure and manning up and heavy on notions of pride and passion for their famous club, which in its 150th year is in as much need of some heart-stirring as it has ever been.

And for a tantalising three-and-half-quarters the Demons threatened to turn the fairytale finish for their former skipper into reality.

Demons fans rose as one midway through the last as Cameron Bruce's soccered goal snatched back the lead by a solitary point — the eighth time it had changed for the match — and the momentum appeared to be their way. Brad Miller's chase of Campbell Brown forced the Hawk hardman to kick to space and the Demon's surged forward again.

Sadly for them, nothing materialised and the ball eventually found its way to the other end and the hands of Xavier Ellis.

While fate would not shine on Neitz — or Aaron Davey, who in the 19th minute was denied an obvious free kick in front of goal that would have got the Demons back to within a single kick — it would on Hawthorn's Aboriginal players, who together fittingly sealed the indigenous-round game.

Ellis' pass to Cyril Rioli had the young Hawk leaping back into oncoming traffic, but his agility in the air and fleetness of foot on landing saw him hit the ground with a deft sidestep, evade a defender and boot the ball through from the goal line. Brilliant.

The Hawks again had the lead and this time would not let it slip.

They went on to record a tough, if sloppy and unimpressive, 19-point win that, for the second week in succession, saw them come from behind after trailing for large chunks of the match.

Mark Williams, the man under fire from his coach for last week's choking gesture after their win over Port Adelaide, had had a quiet match to that point but came good at the right time to seal the game with two late goals.

It is fair to say the Demons were the better team for much of the day, but after winning the contested possessions, too often undid their good work with less-than-perfect delivery.

Not that they were bad, but deliver anything less than perfection against the Hawks and they will find a way back into the game.

Melbourne's pressure restricted Hawthorn's usually fluid ball movement through the corridor and forced the attacking Hawks to retreat and search for options sideways and backwards.

With Brock McLean playing one of his best quarters of his career (13 of his 30 disposals for the match) and Matthew Bate also providing solid run, Melbourne went into the quarter-time break with a six-point break, Russell Robertson having goaled after the siren. With Melbourne's intensity in the red zone, Hawthorn's normally dependable ball users were butchering their kicks and gifting the Demons possession.

Their kicking efficiency at that stage was a lowly 60%.

Chance Bateman was lucky his squaring kick didn't end in a goal, but Brad Sewell wasn't so fortunate with his, the turnover allowing Austin Wonaeamirri to drive it back to the goal square and Ben Holland to mark on the line.

A goal to Paul Johnson from a 50-metre penalty put the Dees out to a 13-point lead and they were beating the Hawks at their own game, smashing them at the stoppages, applying defensive pressure and clearly outdoing them in workrate and execution.

With Lance Franklin contained by young Colin Garland, Rioli and Jarryd Roughead's misses late in the term were telling examples of the latter.

But yet again the Hawks refused to lie down. Bateman, Sam Mitchell and Rick Ladson lifted through the middle and by late in the third the Hawks had gathered steam.

Goals to Williams, Ellis and then Franklin gave them a 10-point lead going into the last quarter, an end-to-end affair that really could have gone either way.

"To our credit the boys didn't play their best football but it's good to know when we don't play our best football we can still get over the line," Williams said after the match.

For Neitz, victory wasn't to be, but he told his former teammates after the match they had set a standard with their performance that they must repeat for four quarters — not just three-and-a-half.

HAWTHORN 3.3 4.7 10.9 14.13 (97)
MELBOURNE 4.3 6.4 9.5 12.6 (78)
GOALS: Hawthorn: Williams 3, Franklin 3, Rioli 3, Roughead, Ladson, Ellis, Clarke, Campbell. Melbourne: Holland 3, Jones 2, Robertson 2, Wonaeamirri 2, Johnson, Bruce, Davey.
BEST: Hawthorn: Mitchell, Bateman, Sewell, Ladson, Brown, Birchall. Melbourne: McLean, Bate, Moloney, Wonaeamirri, Green, Warnock.
UMPIRES: James, Grun, Armstrong.
CROWD: 41,341 at the MCG.

THE UPSHOT
After nine rounds, Hawthorn remains unbeaten. And while few would have expected the Hawks to have such a tough time of it yesterday, following their 104-point walloping of the Demons in round one, their credentials should be bolstered by the grinding win. It was staged without late withdrawal and midfield tough man Jordan Lewis, Stuart Dew — who was injured before half-time — the suspended Shane Crawford and the injured Luke Hodge and Brent Guerra.

THE TALKING POINT
Until yesterday, Melbourne hadn't shown as much spirit over four quarters all year. Presumably, it was the club's retired captain David Neitz who inspired his former teammates to such an effort, making a pre-match address after a lap of honour of the MCG in a car.

HOT AND COLD
Journeyman Ben Holland was looking set for a chilly winter before being called up for his first senior appearance this year. He booted three goals and provided a reliable tall target in the Demons' forward line.