HAWTHORN has not changed its pre-match build-up for this Saturday’s clash with reigning premiers Geelong, according to midfielder Brad Sewell.

There will be no pre-match addresses from past greats, with the coaching staff aiming to keep things as normal as possible going into the grand final.

“Our routine and our systems that we have in place have got us this far so there’s no need to do anything special away from that at the moment,” Sewell said.

“In a sense it is just another game and you just try to block out, to a certain extent, everything that’s going on outside of what’s happening in here. You can be a little bit overawed at times so you try to pull back from it a bit and try and stay in control.”

In terms of the approach to the game, Sewell said it was important that the Hawks maintained their attacking approach in the midfield.

Geelong has the best midfield in the competition but Sewell said he believed the Hawks could match it with the Cats and stressed that it was important for the Hawks to come out in top in that area if they were to win the grand final.

“They’ve got a lot of strong bodies around the ball, so do we,” Sewell said.

“It’s going to be crucial who wins the hard ball, the clearances and the stoppages. That’s where the real battle is going to be.”

Sewell was speaking at Hawthorn press conference a day after polling 16 votes in the Brownlow Medal count.

Despite being at the top end of the leader board in the early stages, he insisted that he wasn’t getting excited about his prospects.

“I wasn’t too excited about it. It’s a great night to be a part of, but apart from that no.”

Sewell’s teammate Luke Hodge had a much different version of events.