Cyril the spark for thrilling Hawks

Horizontal ... Lance Franklin hitches a ride on Scott Thompson at the MCG. Source: JOE CASTRO / AAP

Hawthorn held on to beat North Melbourne by three points in a pulsating Sunday twilight clash at the MCG.

Rioli kicked four goals and was Hawthorn's shining light up forward in their 14.15 (99) to 13.18 (96) triumph at the MCG, but celebrations were tempered as Rioli suffered a hamstring injury late in the final quarter.

5.4 (34)	Q1	3.5 (23)
8.8 (56)	Q2	7.9 (51)
11.11 (77)	Q3	9.15 (69)
14.15 (99)	Q4	13.18 (96)

Cyril Rioli 4	Lindsay Thomas 5
Max Bailey 3	Aaron Black 2
Shaun Burgoyne 1	Leigh Adams 1
Jack Gunston 1	Sam Gibson 1
Bradley Hill 1	Aaron Mullett 1
Sam Mitchell 1	Drew Petrie 1
Michael Osborne 1	Daniel Wells 1
Jarryd Roughead 1	Jack Ziebell 1
Isaac Smith 1

North key forward Drew Petrie kicked the ball deep into attack with seconds left, but there was no mark and the Hawks won 14.15 (99) to 13.18 (96).

		P	W	D	L	%	Pts
1	Essendon	5	5	0	0	176.70	20
2	Port Adelaide	5	5	0	0	148.45	20
3	Geelong	5	5	0	0	114.20	20
4	Hawthorn	5	4	0	1	131.57	16
5	Sydney	5	4	0	1	124.53	16
6	Richmond	5	3	0	2	112.13	12
7	Fremantle	5	3	0	2	102.57	12
8	Collingwood	5	3	0	2	93.61	12
9	Carlton	5	2	0	3	103.67	8
10	Adelaide	5	2	0	3	98.90	8
11	Gold Coast	5	2	0	3	95.13	8
12	Brisbane	5	2	0	3	77.53	8
13	North Melbourne	5	1	0	4	100.20	4
14	St Kilda	5	1	0	4	97.63	4
15	West Coast	5	1	0	4	97.46	4
16	Bulldogs	5	1	0	4	79.47	4
17	Melbourne	5	1	0	4	57.16	4
18	Greater Western Sydney	5	0	0	5	63.84	0

Hawthorn utility Cyril Rioli was best afield with four goals and 20 possessions, but he was carried off in the last term with a right hamstring injury.

North's Lindsay Thomas kicked five goals, including three in the final term.

A controversial free for holding the ball against Hawthorn defender Brent Guerra set up Thomas for his last goal with two minutes and 46 seconds left.

The Kangaroos had their chances, but kicked one goal four at the end of the match.

Midfielder Daniel Wells starred for North and defender Scott Thompson restricted Lance Franklin to just five behinds.

Last year, Franklin kicked 13 goals in a match against the Kangaroos.

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson unwittingly referred to rock goddess Chrissie Amphlett, who died a week ago, as he spoke of his relief at his side's win.

North came agonisingly close to staging a major upset, easily winning the inside 50s 63-47 and the clearances 44-25.

"Who sang that song - there's a fine line between pleasure and pain?,'' Clarkson said.

"I tell you what, there's a fine line today. We could have quite easily been sitting here, absolutely spewing.

"Perhaps North did deserve to win in terms of all the KPIs they won during the game.''

The win leaves Hawthorn with four wins from five games.

It ensures they will have a positive result from their brutal seven-game start to the season - all against last year's fellow finalists.

While the 'Roos will rue an opportunity lost, it was a much better performance from a team determined to play well for four quarters against the top sides.

But for all their bravery against the Hawks, North are in trouble at 1-4.

Coach Brad Scott was asked how hard it would be to make the top eight from this position.

"I understand the question and it's a fair enough question, but I honestly don't care - because I can't do anything about it,'' he said.

"What I can control is getting the team playing really good footy.

"When we get everything right and we produce that sort of effort coupled with a bit more polish, I think we're going to be a hard team to beat.''

Hawthorn ruckman Max Bailey made an amazing start to the game, kicking his team's first three goals and doubling his career tally.

There was nothing between the two teams until late in the term, when the Hawks kicked two goals in the space of a minute and took an 11-point lead into the first break.

Remarkably, Hawks captain Luke Hodge had no possessions until the second term.

While he was quiet for most of the game, Hodge lifted noticeably in the last term.

Hawthorn went 15 points up early in the second quarter, but North quickly hit back to keep the game tight.

Tempers frayed midway through the term, with Franklin and North's Jamie MacMillan at the centre of a melee that will attract match review panel attention.

Hawthorn led by five points at the main break, but a clever tap-on by Wells at the start of the third term set up Aaron Black for a superb running goal.

Rioli then stepped up with a run of three outstanding goals to put his team 15 points up.

Again, the 'Roos hit back with the last goal of the quarter to trail by eight points at the last change.

Thomas kicked two goals and Wells also goalled on the run to give North a nine-point lead.

Rioli kicked his fourth goal to stop North's surge, but went down with his hamstring injury just as Sam Mitchell kicked a goal to put the Hawks back in front.

Isaac Smith's goal a few minutes later gave the Hawks an 11-point lead and that proved decisive.

Click here to view all of the stats and scores in the FOX FOOTY Match Centre.

View the original article here