Heading into Friday night's blockbuster semi-final at a sold-out Adelaide Oval, Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell believes his team's previous finals experience will serve them well in what shapes as a season-defining clash.
The Hawks enter the contest with confidence built from reaching the same stage last year, despite falling heartbreakingly short against Port Adelaide by three points.
Mitchell reflected thoughtfully on how the team has evolved since that disappointment.
"Last year was a bit of an unknown, and there's still an unknown. It's obviously a different game, different club, playing against someone new," he said.
"We made our own changes, you know, we feel a little bit more prepared, but that doesn't make the outcome assured."
The coach remained realistic about the challenge ahead, acknowledging Adelaide's credentials as minor premiers.
"We feel like we've improved in the last 12 months, but so have Adelaide.
"They finished on top, won more games than anyone else, and will rightly go into the game as favourite," Mitchell said.
However, he expressed confidence in Hawthorn's approach to finals football.
"We feel like we've got a game style that holds up for this time of year, we've been working on it for a long time, and can we produce our best when it matters?
"It's what we've been working towards, and it's the great beauty of sport: we don't know the answer just yet."
The two teams split their encounters during the home and away season, with Mitchell describing the Hawks' Round 14 victory as "the best win of the season".
He noted the competitive nature of both meetings, saying: "We've played two games against them, both close. You know, we're one and one."
Playing in Adelaide presents its own unique challenges, with Mitchell expecting a hostile atmosphere from the parochial Crows fanbase, determined to create a colosseum-like environment.
"We'll go over to a hostile environment and put our best foot forward," he said, before adding with humour about Hawthorn supporters: "I didn't realise how rowdy the Hawks fans were, but last week up at Engie Stadium, they were the most rowdy ones in there."
Despite being vastly outnumbered, Mitchell expressed gratitude for the travelling Hawthorn faithful.
"The Hawks fans who do make the trip, you know, I'm enormously thankful to them and they'll put on a good show for us and we'll make sure we do the same."
Team selection has been complicated by the loss of key forward Calsher Dear, who has suffered a hamstring injury that will sideline him for several weeks.
Mitchell remained coy about his replacement, simply stating that team announcements would come at "6:30 tomorrow night". However, Mitch Lewis appears to be the most likely inclusion after his impressive four-goal performance in Box Hill's VFL semi-final victory last weekend.
The importance of squad depth has been a constant theme throughout Mitchell's tenure, and he emphasised how every player contributes to the team's success.
"It takes squads, it takes your training standards, it takes your VFL team, it takes all of your staff and your coaches and your players who don't play to create an environment that is going to be successful."
He praised the leadership shown by experienced players when not selected, highlighting Luke Breust and Sam Frost.
"When you've got someone like a Luke Breust or a Sam Frost, who has played a lot of AFL footy and done so at a really high level for a long time, and they have a great attitude, it's really difficult for anyone else not to."
Addressing potential distractions, including the hostile reception certain players like Jack Ginnivan might face, Mitchell remained focused on football preparation.
"I don't think any of our players are the types that are going to be affected by it, and if they are, then that's resilience training that we need," he said, matter-of-factly.
Training at Waverley Park carried added significance, with this finals session being the last held at the venue before the Hawks relocate to their new Kennedy Community Centre base in Dingley for pre-season.
Coming off a six-day break after their taxing elimination final victory over the Giants, the team had a lighter session as they managed their recovery.
Key defender Jack Scrimshaw and Ginnivan both trained with the rehabilitation group at different periods, sitting out match simulation as the fitness staff carefully managed their loads ahead of the sudden-death clash.
Lewis trained strongly alongside Jack Gunston and Mabior Chol in the forward line, positioning himself as the frontrunner for selection in what would be his finals debut.
His inclusion would provide Mitchell with additional tall options after Dear's injury setback.
The coach acknowledged valuable lessons from last weekend's elimination final, particularly regarding midfield pressure during the third quarter.
"Live, I was like, 'Man, we need answers here.' But when we re-watched it, GWS, they were fantastic, and they had this period of the game where their potency was phenomenal."
The inclusion of Nick Watson in midfield rotations during stoppage work hints at Mitchell's search for solutions in the centre square, with the speedy forward potentially offering the Hawks a different dimension to combat momentum shifts and address the creativity void left by injured star Will Day.
Perhaps most importantly, Mitchell believes the team has developed the mental fortitude required for finals football.
Reflecting on their journey since reaching the same stage twelve months ago, he explained: "We looked at this time last year, we got into a very similar position to what we're in now, and we've spent a whole summer building capacity.
"We feel really confident that we can handle the pressures of the game, the pressures of the environment and the atmosphere because there's still four goalposts, we've got to play our footy and we feel in a good position to do those."
The stakes could not be higher for both teams. With finals fever gripping Melbourne and Hawthorn being the only Victorian club in action this weekend, all eyes will be on Adelaide Oval on Friday night.
The victor earns the right to face Geelong in a preliminary final at the MCG, keeping their premiership dreams alive for another week.
For the vanquished, the season ends in heartbreak, making this truly a winner-takes-all encounter that will test every ounce of preparation, skill, and mental strength both teams possess.
