A wayward Hawthorn have overcome a sluggish start to beat Gold Coast by 53 points in their AFL clash in Launceston. The Hawks trailed by nine points at quarter-time but did enough to topple the fading Suns in the 13.18 (96) to 5.13 (43) win on Saturday in front of 9007 fans. Hawthorn's third-straight victory puts them into the top eight pending other weekend results, while the battling Suns have lost eight in a row. Both teams sprayed countless set shots throughout the afternoon, including several from in front. Jack Gunston kicked three and Luke Bruest two for the Hawks, while Liam Shiels finished with a game-high 33 touches. Despite the final margin, the Suns dominated territory early, with talls Tom Lynch and Peter Wright combining for three opening-term goals. Gold Coast fell away, though, only scoring 0.5 in the middle quarters. Hawthorn took a 37-24 lead into halftime. The Suns rallied somewhat late in the third quarter but squandered their chances, missing three kickable set shots in a row. Hawthorn edged to a 34-point lead at the end of the third - the highlight of the term being a Paul Puopolo snap. Hawthorn found their radar in the dying stages, with skipper Jarryd Roughead icing the win with a major from the final kick of the day. Shaun Burgoyne sat out the last quarter with ice on his hamstring.
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