Updated November 8, 2026 — 7:11pm , first published 3:08pm

After bombing out of the finals in straight sets in successive years, Hawthorn have broken through for their first AFLW finals victory with an 18-point defeat of Gold Coast.

Basking in the joy of knocking off the favoured Suns on their home turf, Hawks coach Daniel Webster declared: “We know our football can compete with and beat the best”.

The Hawthorn AFLW outfit has had a complicated relationship with finals. Typically, after strong home and away seasons, they’ve usually run out of steam in the post-season.

Pumped: The Hawks pump out the team song. AFL Photos via Getty Images

But on Sunday they proved the naysayers wrong. A commanding third quarter paved the path for the Hawks to prevail 8.9 (57) to 6.3 (39).

Next up Hawthorn will face Carlton in a sudden-death semi after the Blues crashed badly against North Melbourne on Saturday.

Webster said confidence had been building within the group.…