A brilliant Lance Franklin opening burst has helped Hawthorn sew up the AFL minor premiership and left West Coast in danger of falling out of the top four.

The Hawks won 14.11 (95) to 10.10 (70) at the MCG on Friday night, it was never in serious danger after they booted seven goals to one in the first quarter despite an Eagles’ last-term charge.

Franklin kicked four goals, all in the first quarter, in which he also handed off another two to teammates.

But the Hawks lost Brent Guerra (hamstring) in the final term, while Jack Gunston and Brendan Whitecross appeared to sustain minor leg injuries.

And Eagles star forward Josh Kennedy hobbled off with an apparent knee injury in the final quarter.

The win means Hawthorn will play a home qualifying final, against an opponent yet to be decided.

If Collingwood beat Essendon on Saturday night, the Magpies will replace the Eagles in fourth spot and take on the Hawks.

If not, West Coast will have a rematch with Hawthorn next weekend.

Franklin, who returned from a six-week injury absence last round, had two goals in the first four minutes and looked unstoppable early.

The Eagles felt the absence of key defender Eric Mackenzie, who was missing with a hamstring injury.

But Franklin’s opponent Mitch Brown was not helped by the ease with which the Hawks were allowed to move the ball through the midfield in the first term.

Veteran midfielders Sam Mitchell and Brad Sewell continued their strong form, ensuring Hawthorn had the best of the clearances for most of the night despite the Eagles predictably dominating the hitouts through Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox.

The rebound of Matt Suckling and Grant Birchall was also a highlight.

The Eagles picked up their game defensively after quarter-time.

But their lack of potency in attack meant they still had just five goals on the board by the last change, with their five last-term goals coming too late to provide a realistic winning chance.

Eagles key forward Jack Darling battled hard for three goals, with midfielder Scott Selwood another hard worker.

The Hawks would have been happy to see small forward Cyril Rioli return from a shoulder injury.

He started as the substitute and replaced Gunston late in the third quarter.