The Hawks never led by more than seven points on their way to the 9.10 (64) to 9.7 (61) win, which was sealed by a Jarryd Roughead major at the 24-minute mark of the final term.

Alastair Clarkson’s men had a number of chances to ice the game in the dying minutes but kept the crowd of 13,007 guessing until the final siren as Jack Gunston, Luke Breust and Jarman Impey all missed set shots.

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Photo gallery: Hawks v Power

Shaun Burgoyne gathered five touches in the first ten minutes and followed through to be best on ground against his old club, although umpires Mathew Nicholls, Brendan Hosking and Hayden Gavine did their best to steal the spotlight.

Nine 50m penalties were awarded in the first half alone as the men in green made their mark on the contest, cracking down on players entering the protected area after a mark.

Burgoyne was reported for a rough tackle on Jared Polec in the first quarter but won praise from his coach for setting the example for his teammates. 

“(Ben) McEvoy and Burgoyne and Roughead and these types of bigger bodies were really important for us late in the game when the game was on the line,” Clarkson said.

“The Port Adelaide midfield are very strong, big-bodied and pretty aggressive in the manner they attack the ball in there and Shaun’s presence in there was really important for us.”

After an uninspiring first ten minutes the visitors set the game alight with three goals in as many minutes. 

Charlie Dixon set up Robbie Gray’s first by intercepting a rogue pass from James Frawley, and the three-time All-Australian added an equally opportunistic second not long after.

Melbourne recruit Jack Watts joined Gray in kicking two first quarter-goals to set up a 24-point buffer at quarter time, with Hawthorn needing 22 minutes and a 50-metre penalty to kick its first major.

But the Hawks’ defence tightened up in the second term, keeping the Power goalless on their way to a seven-point lead at the final break.

“It was a tight game from start to finish,” Clarkson said.

“Even in the first quarter when it was five goals to one I thought we were right in the game, we just made some poor errors with the footy that gave Port some really easy goals.

“Probably three of their five goals came from back-half turnovers which is really difficult to defend behind the turnover like that.

“It was really pleasing that we fought our way back and got ourselves back to level pegging at half time and then it was just a real arm wrestle.”

James Sicily played another exceptional game for the Hawks, frequently picking off errant kicks down the line and grabbing 10 marks, while Ricky Henderson and Jack Gunston won ball all over the ground.

For the Power it was Steven Motlop who shone early, surpassing his five-disposal haul against Gold Coast in the first quarter and using his class to deliver the ball out of half-back.

Justin Westhoff was also prolific playing around the ground, while Sam Powell-Pepper and Ollie Wines used their big frames to win first use from the stoppage.

Gray finished with four goals from just 13 disposals but had little help in compiling a winning total. 

“It was an ugly game I thought, it wasn’t a great spectacle for anyone,” Power coach Ken Hinkley said.

“I’m sure Hawthorn would be pleased because they got the four points but I don’t think they’d be pleased about too much else like us.

“We let it slip - we had the game where we wanted it to be played and to Hawthorn’s credit they were able to find a way back into it.

“We gave away some really poor free kicks and some 50s which gives (them) a bit of momentum - when you break momentum that’s what happens.”