AFL 2017: Hawthorn Hawks star Jack Gunston gives ailing fans reason to smile

Watch the ball, not the man is the lesson for all of us – and probably also a couple of Geelong Cats players - in this superb goal kicked by Hawthorn forward Jack Gunston at the MCG on Easter Monday.

Plenty of fans would have presumed the ball was out on at least one occasion in the lead-up to Gunston’s snap.

Hawks player Tim O’Brien was the first to flirt with the boundary line when he picked the ball up and hand-passed it in the direction of Gunston.

That left the triple-premiership winning Gunston with the tough task of negotiating both the sideline and the opposition before sizing up the posts.

For someone who had kicked 271 goals heading into this match, Gunston only needed to be asked once to have a shot at goal.

The beleaguered Hawks will be hoping for more of the same from one of their leading players.