# 1976 Hawthorn Football Club season

The 1976 season was the Hawthorn Football Club's 52nd season in the Victorian Football League and 75th overall. Hawthorn qualified for finals for the third consecutive season. Hawthorn qualified for the Grand Final for the second consecutive season. In the Grand Final, Hawthorn faced North Melbourne for the second consecutive season. Hawthorn won their third VFL premiership defeating North Melbourne 100–70. This was their first premiership since 1971.

## Fixture
### Premiership season

| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | Record |
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Home | Away | Result | Venue | Attendance | Record |
| 1 | Saturday, 3 April (2:10 pm) | St Kilda | 13.11 (89) | 16.15 (111) | Won by 22 points | Moorabbin Oval (A) | 22,879 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Saturday, 10 April (2:10 pm) | North Melbourne | 20.11 (131) | 16.13 (109) | Won by 22 points | Princes Park (H) | 15,479 | 2–0 |
| 3 | Saturday, 17 April (2:10 pm) | Collingwood | 25.22 (172) | 12.12 (84) | Won by 88 points | Princes Park (H) | 23,965 | 3–0 |
| 4 | Saturday, 24 April (2:10 pm) | Footscray | 14.20 (104) | 14.8 (92) | Won by 12 points | VFL Park (H) | 27,040 | 4–0 |
| 5 | Saturday, 1 May (2:10 pm) | Essendon | 10.15 (75) | 14.10 (94) | Won by 19 points | Windy Hill (A) | 14,389 | 5–0 |
| 6 | Saturday, 8 May (2:10 pm) | Carlton | 7.20 (62) | 15.12 (102) | Lost by 40 points | Princes Park (H) | 27,889 | 5–1 |
| 7 | Saturday, 15 May (2:10 pm) | Melbourne | 14.13 (97) | 21.19 (145) | Won by 48 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 25,876 | 6–1 |
| 8 | Saturday, 22 May (2:10 pm) | South Melbourne | 20.16 (136) | 11.10 (76) | Won by 60 points | Princes Park (H) | 7,827 | 7–1 |
| 9 | Saturday, 29 May (2:10 pm) | Fitzroy | 18.15 (123) | 14.12 (96) | Won by 27 points | Princes Park (H) | 8,971 | 8–1 |
| 10 | Saturday, 5 June (2:10 pm) | Richmond | 13.10 (88) | 15.10 (100) | Won by 20 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 29,608 | 9–1 |
| 11 | Monday, 14 June (2:10 pm) | Geelong | 11.22 (88) | 11.10 (76) | Won by 12 points | Princes Park (H) | 33,692 | 10–1 |
| 12 | Saturday, 19 June (2:10 pm) | St Kilda | 13.19 (97) | 18.14 (122) | Lost by 25 points | Princes Park (H) | 14,294 | 10–2 |
| 13 | Saturday, 26 June (2:10 pm) | North Melbourne | 9.13 (67) | 10.15 (75) | Won by 8 points | Arden Street Oval (A) | 16,230 | 11–2 |
| 14 | Saturday, 3 July (2:10 pm) | Footscray | 5.7 (37) | 17.15 (117) | Won by 80 points | Western Oval (A) | 13,307 | 12–2 |
| 15 | Saturday, 10 July (2:10 pm) | Collingwood | 16.11 (107) | 18.11 (119) | Won by 12 points | VFL Park (A) | 27,353 | 13–2 |
| 16 | Saturday, 17 July (2:10 pm) | Essendon | 15.17 (107) | 18.15 (123) | Lost by 16 points | Princes Park (H) | 16,579 | 13–3 |
| 17 | Saturday, 24 July (2:10 pm) | Carlton | 17.14 (116) | 11.19 (85) | Lost by 31 points | Princes Park (A) | 26,378 | 13–4 |
| 18 | Saturday, 31 July (2:10 pm) | Melbourne | 16.17 (113) | 14.11 (95) | Won by 18 points | Princes Park (H) | 7,567 | 14–4 |
| 19 | Saturday, 7 August (2:10 pm) | South Melbourne | 12.11 (83) | 13.19 (97) | Won by 14 points | VFL Park (A) | 18,640 | 15–4 |
| 20 | Saturday, 14 August (2:10 pm) | Fitzroy | 12.19 (91) | 14.10 (94) | Won by 3 points | Junction Oval (A) | 10,417 | 16–4 |
| 21 | Saturday, 21 August (2:10 pm) | Richmond | 11.16 (82) | 17.12 (114) | Lost by 32 points | Princes Park (H) | 13,674 | 16–5 |
| 22 | Saturday, 28 August (2:10 pm) | Geelong | 13.18 (96) | 10.11 (71) | Lost by 25 points | Kardinia Park (A) | 22,916 | 16–6 |

### Finals Series

| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance |
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Home | Away | Result | Venue | Attendance |
| Qualifying final | Saturday, 4 September (2:30 pm) | North Melbourne | 14.19 (103) | 12.11 (83) | Won by 20 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 64,148 |
| Semi-final | Saturday, 11 September (2:30 pm) | Carlton | 9.16 (70) | 12.15 (87) | Won by 17 points | VFL Park (A) | 60,105 |
| Grand Final | Saturday, 25 September (2:50 pm) | North Melbourne | 13.22 (100) | 10.10 (70) | Won by 30 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 110,143 |

## Ladder

| (P) | Premiers |
| | Qualified for finals |
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
| 1 | Carlton | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 2245 | 1690 | 132.8 | 66 |
| 2 | Hawthorn (P) | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2323 | 2035 | 114.2 | 64 |
| 3 | North Melbourne | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2041 | 1748 | 116.8 | 60 |
| 4 | Geelong | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2251 | 2166 | 103.9 | 48 |
| 5 | Footscray | 22 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 1958 | 2023 | 96.8 | 46 |
| 6 | Melbourne | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 2319 | 2333 | 99.4 | 44 |
| 7 | Richmond | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 2192 | 2224 | 98.6 | 40 |
| 8 | South Melbourne | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 2223 | 2364 | 94.0 | 36 |
| 9 | St Kilda | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 2056 | 2282 | 90.1 | 36 |
| 10 | Essendon | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 1987 | 2253 | 88.2 | 36 |
| 11 | Fitzroy | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 2005 | 2161 | 92.8 | 28 |
| 12 | Collingwood | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 2033 | 2354 | 86.4 | 24 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for Average score: 97.1 Source: AFL Tables