HARD running and a clutch kick from Roos veteran Brady Rawlings broke Hawk hearts at Aurora Stadium in the Anzac Day evening clash.

Rawlings’ mark and goal on the back of a sweeping move restored North Melbourne's slender lead and the match was theirs moments later when Aaron Edwards made the most of a free-kick.

The Roos ran out 12-point victors 12.10 (82) to 10.10 (70), leaving the Hawks anchored in the bottom half of the ladder.

A goal from last-minute replacement and second-game player Jarrod Kayler-Thomson gave the Hawks their first lead eight minutes into the final term.

Playing only his second game and in the team following Brent Renouf’s last-minute withdrawal due to illness, Kayler-Thomson first missed a set-shot, then nailed a goal on the run from the resulting kick-out to put the Hawks in front for the first time all night.

But the spirited comeback, along with five goals to Hawthorn spearhead Lance Franklin, was not enough to prevent the Hawks' downwards slide.

In another low-scoring encounter at Aurora Stadium, the Roos led from the outset; their dogged, crunching style enough to keep the Hawks at bay for most of the night.

The Hawks fought their way to within a kick on several occasions, but were often wasteful in front of goal, particularly in the third quarter where they could only manage 2.5 in response to the Roos’ 3.1.

Tall targets Franklin and David Hale (three goals) were the focal points for their teams throughout while Daniel Wells checked in for three in a telling second-half contribution.

The last-minute withdrawal of Hawthorn’s only ruckman in Renouf created confusion on and off the ground in the opening moments but Jarryd Roughead battled bravely and was assisted by a range of teammates at ruck contests around the ground.

The result leaves Hawthorn with just one win from its opening five games, while North Melbourne improves to 2-3 after an  0-2 start that included a 104-point thrashing by St Kilda.

Hawthorn                 3.1   5.4     7.9    10.10  (70)
North Melbourne     4.4   6.5     9.6    12.10  (82)

GOALS
Hawthorn: Franklin 5, Roughead, Osborne, Brown, Rioli, Kayler-Thomson
North Melbourne: Hale 3, Wells 3, Edwards 2, Swallow, Warren, Adams, Rawlings

BEST
Hawthorn: Hodge, Lewis, Franklin, Roughead, Sewell
North Melbourne: Rawlings, Wells, Hale, Firrito

INJURIES
Hawthorn: -
North Melbourne: -

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Scott McLaren, Scott Jeffrey, Jacob Mollison

Official crowd: TBC

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.