Hawthorn winger Harry Morrison has indicated the frustration of missing last year's finals series is driving him at the tail-end of this year.
Morrison is coming off a season-best outing against Collingwood in a finals-like game, hitting form at the right time after injury cut his year short last season and robbed him of September exposure last year.
“It was a tough one last year; I feel for anyone going through that, like Conor Nash at the moment; it's not an ideal place to be," Morrison said.
"I've used that to give me fire in the belly, and missing out last year, I'm trying to make the most of this year.
"I think (our finals experience) gives us good confidence we can play against the best teams on the biggest stage and perform. When we're at our best, we can do that. As a team, we're confident that we can match the best."
Morrison penned a one-year extension last month after a year in which he played 12 games and took until the second half of the season to hit his stride.
Forced to start the season in the VFL where he played a mix of half-back and the wing role, his leadership was often lauded at the lower level before ensconcing himself in Hawthorn's best lineup.
“It was a bit of a challenging first half of the year getting myself going, but since the bye coming back into the side, I've been able to play my role and help the team as best as I can," Morrison said.
"Getting my body in a position to perform and being confident in that and putting a good block of footy together - I think pre the bye, I had a good patch of form in the VFL which set me up for the back end of the season, so a number of things including the support from players and coaches have allowed me (to find form).
"I took a fair bit (of confidence from Saturday night). It's always nice to play well in those bigger games; there was 70-80,000 there, and it was a finals-like game. We're not humming at the moment, but we're building and ready to attack a finals series."
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell praised Morrison's role compliance on the wing, which, alongside Massimo D'Ambrosio, is critical to Hawthorn's ball movement and the way they defend the ground.
"Some players you watch on TV and think 'oh they're amazing', and they find themselves out of the side, and it's players like Harry who coaches love because they make everyone around them better," Mitchell said.
"You need players like Harry, and when the opposition switch the ball towards his wing, they almost never get through because his level of understanding in setting everyone else around him up is so important
"He's the sort of player when you go to the game live, you really appreciate, and as a coach, he's one of the players you know you can rely on in big moments."
