Three-point thrillers after chaotic momentum swings underpin the past three games between Kuwarna and Hawthorn in Launceston.
Hawthorn won the 2025 and 2021 clashes at UTAS Stadium, while Kuwarna came out on top in 2023, 18 years after its previous win at the venue.
Riley Thilthorpe kicked five goals on debut for Kuwarna on Anzac Day in 2021, when the team scored 15 goals without a miss on the way to a 32-point lead early in the third quarter.
This was after being 20 points down late in the first term.
Hawthorn persisted, however, and kicked the last five goals of the game and then added some behinds to hit the front.
Two years later it was a late comeback from Kuwarna.
Kuwarna trailed by nine points with 3.30 minutes remaining, before Izak Rankine gave the team some hope with a clever goal from the boundary line.
Then Darcy Fogarty took a mark in the same pocket with less than two minutes remaining and nailed the match-winning kick from a tight angle.
Tough conditions were part of the reason Kuwarna and Hawthorn added 13 consecutive behinds in the second half of the 2025 contest.
Kuwarna led by 15 points at half-time after Ben Keays kicked two goals in his 150th AFL game but did not add another goal until late in the game when Rankine’s brilliant work from a forward stoppage regained the lead.
Hawthorn’s Jai Newcombe then ran into an open goal to kick what proved to be the winner, with four minutes to play.
Kuwarna first went to Tasmania for an AFL game in 2001. It has played eight games in Launceston – seven against Hawthorn and one against St Kilda – and four in Hobart, all against North Melbourne.
This week's clash on Thursday night will mark the second week of Sir Doug Nicholls Round, recognising and celebrating indigenous players and culture.
Fans can watch the Round 11 game live on Channel 7 Adelaide, Fox Footy and Kayo from 7pm (ACST).
