Hawthorn defender Josh Battle believes the experience of last year's finals campaign has set Hawthorn up for a 2026 premiership tilt.
The Hawks fell to Geelong in a preliminary final last year with the squad learning about the intensity of finals footy.
"That was obviously disappointing. We had a really good season but then let ourselves down in the prelim," Battle said at a press conference on Saturday.
"Definitely this time around we'll be look to make amends for that.
"From a personal point-of-view, I never played in a prelim and then obviously last year played in a prelim and it was amazing to play in that game. There was nearly 100,000 there and I think it would our game in good stead going forward."
"We're confident within the group that when we play our best footy we can match it against anyone. At our best, we're really hard to play against."
The Hawks have a healthy list and Box Hill has qualified for the VFL grand final with a seven-point preliminary final victor over Essendon.
Hawthorn's final against Fremantle proved it had the quality and intensity to be a force in September and the club awaits the winner of Adelaide and Brisbane next Saturday night.
"Finals footy is really hot, really contested so having a taste of it last year will hold us in good stead and I thought we were really good last week as well," Battle added.
