Damningly for the Bulldogs - and much to the delight of Hawks coach Sam Mitchell - his counterpart Luke Beveridge confessed that Hawthorn were too physical on Thursday night at Marvel Stadium.
With Prime Minister Anthony Albanese looking on, draped in a Hawthorn scarf, his team jumped the Bulldogs in the first quarter and held on for the 12.9 (81) to 8.11 (59) win.
It snapped Hawthorn's three-game losing streak, while the Bulldogs are now 1-6 against top-eight teams this season.
"They had us in a stranglehold and the times when we looked like maybe we'd break out of it, they got us back in it," Beveridge said.
"Hawthorn, in the end tonight, were just too good at the physical side of the game. We lowered our colours."
Mitchell was delighted when told of Beveridge's comment.
"If the opposition coach says we were too physical, that's a pretty good blueprint to win most games. So that's certainly what we'll be attempting to do from this point on," he said.
"If we hadn't won tonight ... I still would have thought of this game as closer to the way we want to play."
Legendary Hawthorn coach Allan Jeans christened Operation Tackle in the 1980s as a key focus for his all-conquering teams.
Asked what the focus would be ahead of this match, Mitchell called for increased pressure and his men delivered.
After only registering a combined 74 tackles in their previous two games, the Hawks racked up 82 to 73 against the Bulldogs .
Small forward Jack Ginnivan sealed the win early in the last term when he beat two opponents and was able to run into an open goal.
Always happy in the spotlight - and always ready to annoy opposition fans - Ginnivan "showed the ball" to the Bulldogs before kicking his second goal.
Mitchell laughed nervously and was not keen to comment when asked about Ginnivan's last-quarter celebration.
Mabior Chol led the way with four goals and Josh Ward and Jai Newcombe were excellent in the midfield, with Josh Weddle and Josh Battle impressive down back.
Adding to the Bulldogs' problems, midfielder Adam Treloar was hurt in the first term on his return from injury.
Ginnivan kicked the first goal of the game from a free in the opening minute and they bolted clear.
Hawthorn booted five majors to one in the first quarter for a 25-point lead and the Bulldogs looked rusty coming out of their mid-season bye.
Turnovers proved costly for the Dogs as they tried to fight back - a poor kick from Lachlan McNeil gifted Chol his third goal in the third quarter.
Then Chol was given a mark he really didn't control and he kicked his fourth, giving the Hawks a game-high lead of 28 points.
But the last two goals of the term meant the Bulldogs were only 16 points behind and still well in the contest.
Jarman Impey kicked his first goal of the season and then Ginnivan kicked his second to ice the contest.
Dogs captain Marcus Bontempelli had a team-high nine clearances, while fellow onballer Ed Richards continued his strong form this season.
Hawthorn won the inside 50s 58-44 and the Bulldogs forwards, especially Aaron Naughton, struggled with the lack of consistent supply.
Rory Lobb, who was impressive down back early, was shifted to attack and gave them some spark at times.
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