HAWTHORN is confident its surge to the top eight will have them primed for a first taste of September footy in six years.
The Hawks officially qualified for the finals with a 124-point thrashing of North Melbourne on Saturday afternoon in Launceston, and have now won five of their past six games to secure their first top eight spot since 2018, capping a stunning rise after a 0-5 start to the season.
HAWKS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats
"We've known for six weeks we could maybe afford to lose one game and we did lose that one game," Hawks coach Sam Mitchell said.
"We're going to have to be consistent for another four games if we're going to get all the way ... winning finals is tough to do but we've given ourselves a chance."
Mitchell said he was buoyed by the team's performances early in the season despite not getting the results on the scoreboard.
"We wanted to build a team ... a game style that stands up in finals footy," he said.
"Now we're in finals footy and time will tell. I'm confident that it will (stand up).
"The great challenge for us now is 'What is the ceiling?' I've never put one on."
Hawthorn, seventh heading into the final round and needing to win to secure a spot in the eight, piled on 10 goals in the last term for their biggest-ever win over the Kangaroos.
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Meanwhile, North Melbourne finishes the year with just three wins and in the bottom two on the ladder for the fifth season in a row - including two wooden spoons.
Roos coach Alastair Clarkson, who won four premierships with Hawthorn, praised his former side.
"The spirit fell out of us unfortunately," he said.
"The Hawks have played some really good footy in the second half of the year. They showed us a clear pair of heels."
Clarkson conceded the "fizz" went out of North Melbourne in the closing weeks of the season and says rebuilding clubs is trickier than it has ever been.
North conceded 110 points on average per game in 2024 - the worst in the AFL - and copped a 96-point hammering from the Western Bulldogs in the penultimate round, a week after butchering multiple leads against West Coast.
"The fizz fell out of our season. We're a bit banged up, we've got some sore boys," Clarkson said.
"It's hard when there is not too much to play for in the last couple of weeks.
"(But) we don't want to dismiss what has transpired in the second half of the year.
"For 10 of the 12 games … we were really strong and competitive."
Clarkson said he could draw inspiration from Hawthorn's rise to the top eight, as well as others including Melbourne who have turned their fortunes around.
The premiership winning coach, in his second year with North Melbourne, denied the rebuild was bigger than first thought.
"We knew it was always going to be tough yards," he said.
"It's actually more difficult now than it has ever been with the compromised draft, father-son (rules) and (talent) academies.
"It makes it more difficult and it's hard to get top-end talent through the draft. Your rebuild is more difficult.
"(But) we feel like we're on the right track as a footy club."
