WITH Hawthorn just one win from the Grand Final, big man Jarryd Roughead has spoken of his desperate determination to succeed.

Roughead tasted premiership success in his fourth season with the Hawks, in 2008.

Four seasons on, following Hawthorn's down years of 2009 and 2010 and the Achilles rupture that kept him out of the 2011 finals, he's a senior player and a vice-captain.

Ahead of the club's preliminary final showdown with Adelaide, the versatile key forward/ruckman told AFL.com.au how time and experience had helped him understand the importance of grabbing opportunities.

"I was only 21 when we won it, so you don't appreciate playing in the finals series anywhere near as much, let alone in Grand Finals," Roughead said.

"Some of these blokes (the younger players in the current team) are the age we were four years ago, so you've got to make sure with them too that they don't just think it's going to happen.

"We've got to make this chance our own, because who knows what could happen after this year, or even next week?"

Roughead said last year's three-point preliminary final disappointment had given all Hawks players a similar attitude.

"I think everyone's got an understanding … it's not as if you have to bring it to a head," he said.

"Everyone's got it at the forefront of their mind, knowing that we've given ourselves every chance to do the right thing, it's just a matter of making sure it happens once we're out there."

Roughead watched the 2011 preliminary final from the coaches' box, sitting alongside teammate Clinton Young.

As the game ebbed and flowed, he could do nothing but ride the emotions like the fans in the stands.

"When 'Bud' (Lance Franklin) kicked that goal (to put the Hawks in front late in the last quarter), I was pumped; I couldn't sit down," he said.

"I was up the back of the box running around.

"You get thoughts that the boys are going to be in the 'Granny', and that's awesome, but I'm not going to be there'.

"So mixed emotions go through your head.

"But then when [Luke] Ball kicked that goal [for Collingwood] and we lost, the balloon popped pretty quickly.

"You hope that you get a chance to get back there.

"Not just for me, but for the group as well.

"Blokes want to redeem themselves after what happened last year.

"Not just because we lost, but because it's a chance, and who knows if we'll ever get there again?

"That's the big thing. We've got to make sure we make the most of it this year."