Hawthorn debutant’s crazy record in AFL blowout

Hawthorn rookie Jai Newcombe has broken an AFL record as the Hawks caused a huge boilover against the Sydney Swans at the SCG on Friday night.

Picked up by the Hawks just nine days ago in the mid-season Draft, Newcombe was on fire in his first game, racking up a mammoth 14 tackles to break the record for the most ever by an AFL debutant.

Stream selected Fox Footy shows on Kayo Freebies completely free this June including AFL 360, On The Couch, Bounce & more. No Credit Card. No Brainer. Register Free Now >

The tally surpassed the previous mark of 11 set by Collingwood’s Rupert Wills in 2016 by three.

Making the feat even more impressive, Newcombe had eight tackles at halftime and broke the record midway through the third quarter.

Fans and experts were quick to heap praise on the youngster’s amazing effort.

“What about the first game of Newcombe?” footy legend Brian Taylor exclaimed.

“12 tackles on debut.What a debut performance!”

Newcombe was elevated straight into the senior line-up after impressing in the VFL this year.

“One thing we know about Alastair Clarkson is that he does not gift players games,” North Melbourne great Wayne Carey said in commentary.

Newcombe told Channel 7 after the win: “It’s been a big ride over the past two or three weeks.

“I didn’t really see myself in this position. I’m very happy and lucky, obviously with the support of the boys”.

Hawthorn produced one of the upsets of the season to demolish Sydney 14.5 (89) to 7.9 (51).

The 38-point win was the Hawks’ third of the season.

They outclassed a sluggish Sydney outfit, with Newcombe’s attack on the footy representative of Hawthorn’s game.

“The Swans have been unusually sloppy,” Channel 7 commentator James Brayshaw said.

Earlier in the game, Buddy Franklin continued to prove there is plenty of life left in his AFL career.

The superstar forward set the SCG alight in the opening term of Sydney’s Round 13 clash.

He was involved in everything — kicking a goal, setting up another and clunking contested marks.

The magical 1000-goal milestone is edging slowly within reach for Franklin, who notched up his 969th major early in the game.

He wheeled onto his left to kick a vintage snap, but it was another touch of class that had fans in raptures.

Outside the 50 metre arc, the 34-year-old danced around two defenders before deftly passing to teammate Will Hayward, who duly converted.

READ MORE: AFL boss breaks silence on Goodes saga

But despite Buddy’s heroics, the Hawks had the better of the first quarter, leading the Swans by six points at quarter-time.

Tom Mitchell was running amok for the men in brown and gold against his former side, accumulating 10 disposals and a goal in the first stanza alone.