Hawthorn star Josh Gibson has spearheaded the reigning AFL premiers’ 46-point win over West Coast in the grand final re-match.

The injury-ravaged Hawks were outstanding as they posted their first win of the season, dispatching the Eagles 14.15 (99) to 7.11 (53).

The winning margin was the same in last year’s grand final.

• Bombers on the march after win over Demons
• Suns shock Dockers, Bulldogs thump Saints

Gibson had a career-high 44 disposals and even kicked his third career goal from 191 games in the last quarter.

Veterans such as Gibson, Sam Mitchell and Shaun Burgoyne were instrumental as Hawthorn rebounded superbly from last week’s loss to Geelong.

Cyril Rioli and James Sicily kicked four goals apiece.

They lost captain Luke Hodge with a broken arm in the Geelong match, adding to their long injury list.

Key forward Jarryd Roughead, who will miss the first half of the season with a knee injury, unfurled their three premiership flags from the last three seasons before Sunday’s game.

The Hawks then started the match as if inspired by that ceremony, putting the Eagles under immediate pressure.

West Coast were lucky to only trail by 26 points at quarter time.

While they rebounded with three goals early in the second term, they never reduced the margin to under 15 points.

Every time the Eagles challenged, Hawthorn’s faultless system and relentless workrate helped them kick clear.

Key defender Eric Mackenzie stood out on a bad day for West Coast, who were found wanting again in a big match at the MCG.

The Hawks have not started a season with two losses since 2009, when they last missed the finals.

Giants stun Cats with 13-point win

Meanwhile, Steve Johnson claimed a victory over his former club at the first attempt as Greater Western Sydney stunned Geelong by 13 points in Canberra.

Off-season signing Johnson booted two goals and laid a few hard hits on ex-teammates in the hearty 13.11 (89) to 11.10 (76) victory at a sold-out Manuka Oval.

It was the Giants’ first win of the season and their first in five clashes against Geelong.

The Giants almost let slip a 37-point lead in the third term but some solid defensive work and a late goal to Ryan Griffen sealed one of the biggest wins in the expansion club’s brief AFL history.

GWS held a 15-point advantage at half-time, and enjoyed a near-perfect third term, but let slip a couple of late goals.

The Cats rode that momentum into the final quarter with five unanswered majors, two of them to forward Tom Hawkins, but it was too little too late.

Johnson, who finished with 23 disposals, made sure he made the highlights reel with a crunching tackle on Cory Gregson early in the game, as did Mumford with a flooring ball-and-all tackle that knocked out Mitch Duncan and forced him off in the third quarter.

Jonathon Patton had an indifferent first senior game of 2016 for GWS, missing a few shots at goal.

The Cats’ star recruit Patrick Dangerfield was limited to just 22 disposals, a far cry from his 43 in last week’s win over Hawthorn.

Swans belt Blues at Etihad

Sydney made it two big wins from two starts, kicking away to a 60-point victory over Carlton at Etihad Stadium.

A week after they demolished Collingwood by 80 points, the Swans accounted for the Blues 20.11 (131) to 10.11 (71) in front of 33,146 fans.

Tom Mitchell, Luke Parker and Dan Hannebery provided the midfield grunt for Sydney, while Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin contributed four goals each.

Former Crows midfielder Matthew Wright was again important for his new club with 26 possessions, with Blues teammates Bryce Gibbs and Kade Simpson also prominent.