After a dour first half, the Hawks kicked five goals to two in the third and another three in the last term to lead by 29 points.
But the Kangaroos reduced the margin to 10 points with a run of three goals - two to David Hale and one to youngster Matt Campbell - before the Hawks steadied.
Lance Franklin and Sam Mitchell sealed the match with goals in time-on as the Hawks won 13.13 (91) to 10.10 (70).
The Roos competed hard throughout the game, but failed to take advantage of their possessions on the scoreboard.
Midfielders Daniel Wells and Daniel Harris impressed for the Kangaroos, while Brent Harvey and Daniel Pratt kicked two goals apiece.
They are one of four teams without a win this season and face the Lions at Carrara next week.
Only eight goals were kicked in the first half as the two teams failed to find any system.
The Kangaroos frequently started extra men in defence to bottle up the Hawks attack.
When they went forward, the Roos often kicked high to the 'hot spot' in front of goal, even though Nathan Thompson's absence for the rest of the season with a knee reconstruction means they lack a big-marking forward.
Those long kicks to a contest in front of goal meant the Hawks were usually able to clear the ball out of defence, but they also had a lot of trouble setting up anything ahead of centre.
The Kangaroos led for much of the first half, taking a seven-point break into quarter-time and 10 points at half-time.
KANGAROOS 2.4 5.4 7.6 10.10 (70)
HAWTHORN 1.3 3.6 8.12 13.13 (91)
GoalsKangaroos: B Harvey 2 D Hale 2 D Wells A Swallow D Petrie C Jones A Edwards M Campbell.Hawthorn: M Williams 4 L Franklin 3 M Osborne 2 J Roughead B Dixon B McGlynn S Mitchell.
BestKangaroos: D Wells D Harris B Harvey A Swallow K Green.Hawthorn: S Mitchell M Williams B McGlynn C Brown L Franklin G Birchall J Lewis.
Injuries: Nil.
Reports: Nil.
Official Crowd: 28,481 at Telstra Dome.
Umpires: L Farmer D Margetts S Jeffery.
