More than 72,000 fans turned out for the blockbuster clash, which broke the record for the biggest crowd to attend a Swans-Hawthorn home and away match.
Not much separated the two sides in the opening half, with the Swans holding a narrow seven-point lead at half time.
The Swans continued their good form early in the third term, stretching the lead out to 23 points before the Hawks swooped with seven of the next nine goals.
Trailing by nine points at three-quarter time, the Swans made one last charge with Adam Goodes stepping up in the forward line with two goals in the final term to bring his game tally to four.
A goal to Hawks’ captain Luke Hodge in the dying minutes sealed the match for the home side, but a late goal to Ben McGlynn saw the Swans hold onto top spot despite the result.
McGlynn was among the Swans’ best in the loss, while Dane Rampe was impressive against dangerous Hawks’ forward Jack Gunston, keeping him to just one goal.
Swans coach John Longmire highlighted consistency as an issue after the match.
"I didn't think a lot of our players had great games. In the end, I thought they (Hawthron) deserved to win,” he said.
"I thought we were OK in patches, but I thought they were a little bit more consistent over the course of the game, and they had a few more better players than us."
Hawthorn 2.7 4.8 11.11 15.14 (104)
Sydney Swans 2.3 5.9 9.14 13.16 (94)
Best: McGlynn, Goodes, Franklin, Rampe, Bird, Jack, Jetta
Goals: Goodes 4, Franklin 3, McGlynn 3, Tippett 2, Kennedy
Official crowd: 72,760 at the MCG
Brownlow Medal votes: 3 - B.McGlynn (Syd), 2 – J.Roughead (Haw), 1- S.Mitchell (Haw)
Bob Skilton Medal votes: Dane Rampe 40, Lance Franklin 31, Adam Goodes 30, Gary Rohan 26, Ben McGlynn 25
