Hawthorn small forward Nick ‘The Wizard’ Watson was at his electrifying best on and off the field on Thursday night.

The Wizard started the game in hot form, booting two early goals before the Hawks tore Collingwood to shreds with a stunning 64-point victory at the MCG.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nick Watson excited about win over Collingwood.

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But the cheeky small forward wasn’t done when the final siren sounded, and had plenty to say after the game as well.

“Basically if we lose a game, well, we can’t really afford that,” Watson told Channel 7 after the game.

“We’re sitting around seventh. So yeah, (every game is like) finals now, we love it. We’re embracing it all. And, yeah, we’ve got a such a tight group, and obviously to have Will Day going down early on in the week sort of lifted us boys to get it done for him.”

Seven AFL expert and saints legend Nick Riewoldt said: “The team loves it but you love it, don’t you? You love these big moments.”

Riewoldt then showed Watson vision of his early goals, including the first six-pointer of the night.

That first goal came from a quick kick into Hawthorn’s forward line. As the ball tumbled forward, it suddenly bounced high, and Collingwood skipper Darcy Moore jumped and tapped the ball to his side.

The palm down pretty much fell straight into Watson’s lap, who grabbed the ball and bolted towards the goal.

He was about 30 metres out when kicked the ball with the outside of his boot, which sailed through the big sticks to get his team off to a flying start.

When asked about the early goals, Watson decided to give Moore a not too subtle clip.

“Yeah, I love the big crowd. It just brings more energy, I feel like,” Watson said.

“Yeah ... Thanks Darcy Moore for that first one,” he laughed.

After the goal, Watson’s partner in crime and former Magpie Jack Ginnivan went straight up to Moore and got in the face of his ex-teammate.

“Typical Ginni,” Watson said.

“But yeah, I just try to be lively early, get everyone involved, kick a few snags, and it was good to get on the end of a few and, yeah, the boys (gave) it their all as well. “

The little digs kept coming from the Wizard as the vision of his highlights rolled on. One clip showed Watson passing the ball to veteran forward Jack Gunston and, again, Watson couldn’t resist.

“And Gunners in this one ... he should have got there. He’s too slow. Getting a bit old Gunners, but he still kicked four, so good on him,” he joked.

Watson also revealed he lived in Richmond with young Tigers midfielder Tyler Sonsie, and that Ginnivan had recently become their neighbour.

He said he was a “big gamer” and loved Fortnite and would play the video game after a night match to help him wind down.

Asked who was better at Fortnite, Watson had no doubt.

“I’m way better than Sonsie ... I’m better than Ginni as well ... tell him that as well.”

Hawthorn’s talls were also damaging with ruck Lloyd Meek (three goals), Jack Gunston (four) and Mabior Chol (three) all hitting the scoreboard.

The convincing win — in front of 68,515 fans — gave Hawthorn’s percentage a significant boost (from 117.6 to 121.2) which could be important in a tight finals race.

Watson was a constant threat in the forward-line and captain James Sicily led a tight defensive unit, with Jarman Impey (25 touches) influential and Ginnivan (27) also busy without hitting the scoreboard.

- With AAP