West Coast face a summer of soul-searching after they left one of their most disappointing defeats of 2026 until last, thrashed by Hawthorn to the tune of 62 points.

The Hawks were unrelenting as they chased the 4.5 per cent they needed to overtake Brisbane into third, but they fell 1.6 per cent short despite the 16.11 (107) to 6.9 (45) win at Optus Stadium on Sunday evening.

Sam Mitchell’s team will now have to make the trek back to Perth in less than a fortnight to take on the premiership favourites Fremantle, who are yet to lose on their home deck this season.

The Eagles will head into the off-season on an 11-game losing streak – the equal third biggest in club history – leaving more questions than answers around their rebuild and where it’s at.

Hawks forward Jack Gunston marked his 300th game with five goals, but the evergreen forward was beaten by Tylar Young after a blistering first term.

Brandon Starcevich was given the tough task of curtailing Hawthorn antagonist Nick Watson, and while the Eagles recruit did not give the mercurial forward an inch all night, he was still able to kick three goals and have a profound impact before sitting out the final term.

Watson also gave a late highlight for the season, taking a mark of the year contender in the third quarter in the heavy rain which will be replayed all September.

In the middle, West Coast star Harley Reid (21 disposals, three clearances and a goal) was getting similar attention from Josh Ward (24 disposals and five clearances), who tried to force the star midfielder out of position, especially at the clearances.

Reid could also miss the start of the 2027 season because of a suspension after he laid a dangerous tackle on Jai Newcombe early in the final term.

Hawthorn smashed the Eagles at centre clearances 14-8 as a result, which allowed them to take territory quickly, which in the wet conditions meant they controlled the game.

Tim Kelly (28 disposals and four clearances) and Elliot Yeo (25 and six) did their best to help Reid, but they couldn’t match the Hawks’ spread, who had multiple contributors.

Will Day (23 disposals, two goals and six clearances) and Connor Macdonald (23 and four) got their share of the ball, while Dylan Moore pushed up from half-forward to play an important role with 22 touches and a goal.

West Coast’s forwards were well beaten by what was an out-of-form Hawthorn defence headed into the game, with Milan Murdock their only multiple goalkicker with three majors to go with 23 disposals and five tackles.

It couldn’t have had a worse start for West Coast as they conceded the first two goals before they had even registered a disposal.

The Eagles settled and tried to attack the game with handball and dash through the corridor, but they often went for one too many, and it invited the Hawks’ pressure.

Hawthorn had no such trouble moving the footy, opening up a wing and bursting from the middle where their slick skills came to the fore.

By quarter time Gunston had three of the visitors’ six goals, the margin was already 29 points, and the Hawks were well and truly on their way to achieving their desired outcome.

Scoring dried up as conditions got slippery with persistent rain falling in the second quarter, somewhat hindering the skills of the Hawks.

Murdock kicked his second goal and West Coast threatened to close the gap, but they missed several chances to put pressure on the visitors scoreboard-wise.

Gunston added his fourth after the wet ball fell into his lap from the back of the pack, before cult hero Max Beattie kicked consecutive majors.

By half-time the Eagles were down by 39 points, and it could’ve been a lot worse had they not got fingertips onto Hawks kicks which split the middle.

As the rain continued, the Hawks continued to attack at all costs, but at times their want to get the ball into Gunston’s hands became their undoing.

Hawthorn added only the three goals to one for the term, and it looked as if their third-placed hopes were dashed, but the weather cleared at the final break and there was a pulse.

However, with bigger things to come, Mitchell decided to bench Watson for the final term to ensure his superstar didn’t pick up an unwanted injuries before finals.

Jack Williams kicked the first goal of the final term to seal the Hawks’ fate, with the Eagles locking down the game as best as they could.

It then became a quarter of risk management for Hawthorn, who knew that Justin Longmuir and his Dockers would be awaiting them in the first qualifying final in a rematch of their round nine epic.

SCOREBOARD

HAWTHORN 6.1, 10.4, 13.7, 16.11 (117)

WEST COAST 1.2, 3.7, 4.7, 6.9 (45)

Goal – HAWTHORN: J Gunston 5 N Watson 3 M Beattie 2 W Day 2 M Lewis 2 D Moore J Newcombe. WEST COAST: M Murdock 3 H Reid J Waterman J Williams.

Best – HAWTHORN: J Ward W Day D Moore C Macdonald N Watson J Gunston. WEST COAST: M Murdock T Kelly E Yeo T Young W Duursma B Hough.

Umpires: L Fisher D Johanson J Howorth C Dore. Crowd: 43,066 at Optus Stadium.