A wayward Hawthorn have overcome a sluggish start to beat Gold Coast by 53 points in their AFL clash in Launceston.

The Hawks trailed by nine points at quarter-time but did enough to topple the fading Suns in the 13.18 (96) to 5.13 (43) win on Saturday in front of 9007 fans.

Hawthorn’s third-straight victory puts them into the top eight pending other weekend results, while the battling Suns have lost eight in a row.

Both teams sprayed countless set shots throughout the afternoon, including several from in front.

Jack Gunston kicked three and Luke Bruest two for the Hawks, while Liam Shiels finished with a game-high 33 touches.

Despite the final margin, the Suns dominated territory early, with talls Tom Lynch and Peter Wright combining for three opening-term goals.

Gold Coast fell away, though, only scoring 0.5 in the middle quarters.

Hawthorn took a 37-24 lead into halftime.

The Suns rallied somewhat late in the third quarter but squandered their chances, missing three kickable set shots in a row.

Hawthorn edged to a 34-point lead at the end of the third – the highlight of the term being a Paul Puopolo snap.

Hawthorn found their radar in the dying stages, with skipper Jarryd Roughead icing the win with a major from the final kick of the day.

Shaun Burgoyne sat out the last quarter with ice on his hamstring.