The Hawks made the most of a strong wind in the first term, jumping out to a 43-point lead.

The Tigers hit back with the wind in their favour in the second quarter as Tatyoon began to lose players with injury.

The Hawks were depleted in the second half, with injuries taking their toll.

They led at the final break but could not withstand the Tigers in the final term, finishing 13.14 (92) to 11.9 (75) in Woorndoo-Mortlake’s favour.

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“We obviously wanted to win but we went down there knowing it would be tough for us,” Hawks coach Simon Brearley said.

“We had eight guys from our regular side missing and by half time we had another three injuries.

“We just ran out of legs.”

Tatyoon drops out of the top three following the loss. Brearley said he is far from disappointed of his team.

“We were gallant in defeat. It is disappointing to lose but I am not disappointed in the efforts of the players,” he said.

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“It was a character building game. The guys had to push through fatigue and not once did the drop their heads.

“They matured a lot as footballers in those four quarters.”

Matt Smith and Joe Thomson were the standouts for Tatyoon in the loss. “Matt was tremendous in the middle all day,” Brearley said.

The Hawks bounced back from a humiliating defeat to Wickliffe-Lake Bolac the week before, failing to kick a goal in the loss.

“I think the guys went into the game with a point to prove after last week,” Brearley said.

“I put it to the guys we had to bounce back and show we are better than last week.”

Tatyoon is likely to bring back some experienced players to the team for next week's game against Glenthompson-Dunkeld.