Hawthorn don't do things by halves. So, standing on the verge of history by becoming only the fifth club and sixth team in football history to win a hat-trick of premierships, they delivered it with a bang.
Far from limping over the line with the oldest premiership team in league history, the Hawks smashed West Coast in similar fashion to last year's streeting of Sydney, the margin this time 46 points, a gap that somehow felt like much more.
The initial blows were struck sharply and without mercy. The champs weathered a little period of resistance, soaking up what pressure there was, but answering with more than enough of their own.
And then, with the opponent's spirit suitably deflated, there was time to sit back and enjoy the unfolding of new horizons for this great club, no challenge - even playing four weeks in a row and enduring two trips to Perth - seemingly too great.
When the game was to be determined, it was the Hawks who were cool and clinical, two adjectives that unfortunately couldn't be used about their opponents, who did a pretty good job of shooting themselves in the foot.
West Coast looked like they were up to the challenge in the early moments. It was they who won the first clearance, Nic Naitanui imposing himself at the first bounce, a behind rushed after just 11 seconds of play.
An Eagle, Luke Shuey, posted the first goal from a free kick only two minutes in after being taken high by Jordan Lewis. But it was a deceptive start.
Because the grand final newcomers did indeed look jittery from that moment. And their seasoned opponents began, and continued to, take full advantage.
Norm Smith medallist Cyril Rioli lit the fuse for the Hawks only 90 seconds after Shuey's goal, turning on to his left foot and calmly snapping straight through the middle after Jarryd Roughead had found him with a handball.
As ominous as the score was how it was created, Roughead easily slipping a tackle to give that handball off, Rioli in far too much space for West Coast's comfort.
The Eagles promptly butchered a chance of their own, Shuey preferring to dribble one through and missing when he could have given a handball to Jamie Cripps and made sure of it.
At the other end, Hawthorn once again slipped the defensive net to force a mismatch, Ben McEvoy easily outmarked the far shorter Dom Sheed before converting. Then the Hawks made the first of several symbolic statements, Shaun Burgoyne marking courageously, backing back with the flight of the ball.
Somehow, Rioli found himself in space again, gratefully accepted a pass from Ryan Schoenmakers and kicked his second. Then it was Grant Birchall cashing in on a West Coast error, Jack Darling kicking backwards in the corridor and turning the ball over, the Hawks' goalmouth pressure forcing West Coast to cough it up for a fourth goal.
And the Eagles were in big trouble when Roughead once again found Rioli unmarked, and he popped one over the top to Brad Hill ,who raced into goal to slot one home from close range.
But even that was only a prelude to what was about to happen. By 13 minutes into the second term, this game was as good as shot to ribbons, Hawthorn 43 points up after, incredibly, nine unanswered goals.
The first of them might have been the real dagger to the heart, too. With the ball locked on the boundary line, Paul Puopolo managed to slip a handball out to skipper Luke Hodge, playing his usual commanding game on the big occasion.
The Hawk star calmly leant back on his left foot, and checksided one of those goals you'll be seeing on the highlight reels years from now.
Compounding their woes, and the failure of the likes of Naitanui, Elliott Yeo, Matt Priddis and Chris Masten to make any substantial impression on the game, the Eagles butchered too many chances when they did come their way.
When Shannon Hurn hit the post, it was 1.6 to 6.1. Andrew Gaff had a two-on-one ahead of him and managed to put the ball over the heads of both teammates. Will Schofield dropped a mark then watched his kick off the ground sail out on the full.
Sam Butler missed one he should have nailed, then Priddis. And Rioli's brilliance at the other end made everything count.
He handballed to Jack Gunston to give the Hawks their seventh. It was his chase down of Mark Hutchings that forced yet another turnover and ended in another for Gunston just three minutes later.
Isaac Smith let go from outside 50 metres, Hodge shepherded the bouncing ball through, and the gap extended to a yawning seven-goals-plus.
Perhaps it sounds silly now to suggest that even early in the second half, there was a feeling, despite all that, that West Coast still might be half a chance.
Their revival began with the unlikeliest of snaps from Josh Hill before half-time. Yeo then nailed one after the half-time siren to bring the deficit back to 31 points as the Eagles at least ran from the ground with some spring in their step.
Darling marked strongly and goalled four minutes into the third quarter, and suddenly, a new narrative was shaping. It was hot. It was West Coast who appeared to have the run.
Another goal would make it only a three-goal ball game.
But as thoroughly efficient as were the Hawks, so were the Eagles equally adept at shooting themselves in the foot.
Shuey was an offender again, taking the ball on the burst towards goal, but with options both outside and inside, for some reason elected to chip the ball straight to Hawk defender Taylor Duryea.
More spectacular on the error front still was Darling, who dropped a sitter of mark, had the chance to regather possession at the fall but now fumbled a second time, and hung his head as the ball was whisked to the other end, where Schoenmakers inflicted a mortal wound.
And from there, it was pretty much party time. Sure, Hutchings found another one for West Coast, but Hawthorn now carried themselves like a side that had well and truly weathered any storm and was ready to rain down one of their own.
And they did. Gunston, already with a history of goals in grand finals, was determined to create some more, another brace within three minutes giving him four, Rioli, yet again, the architect of the second of those.
Smith, playing a great game on the wing, rolled on through from out wide on his left, and substitute Matt Suckling had barely been on the ground a minute when he casually caressed one through around the corner, the margin 50 points and heading for embarrassing territory.
That left the final term little more than a necessary prelude to the presentation of the spoils to the Hawks.
It was half an hour to soak up the ongoing brilliance of Hawk possession machine Mitchell, the sturdiness of Hodge, the cool of Burgoyne, now a four-time premiership Hawk. Even a first-timer like Schoenmakers, who more than did his bit in a fine performance up forward.
There are heroes everywhere you look with this club. Not to mention premiership cups.
Grand final days stats
HAWTHORN 5.0 9.3 14.5 16.11 (107)
WEST COAST 1.5 3.8 5.9 8.13 (61)
Goals: Hawthorn: J Gunston 4 I Smith 3 C Rioli 2 B Hill B McEvoy G Birchall J Roughead L Hodge M Suckling R Schoenmakers. West Coast: J McGovern 2 E Yeo J Darling J Hill L Shuey M Hutchings M LeCras.
Best: Hawthorn: C Rioli, S Mitchell, J Frawley, L Hodge, S Burgoyne, B Lake, R Schoenmakers, J Gibson. West Coast: A Gaff L Shuey B Sheppard S Butler.
Umpires: Matt Stevic, Jeff Dalgleish, Brett Rosebury.
Crowd: 98,633 at MCG.
