ALASTAIR Clarkson is delighted Hawthorn has earned its way through to another Grand Final, confident that if the Hawks keep knocking on the premiership door, it will open.
Many thought Clarkson's young 2008 team saluted before its time when it upset Geelong to win that year's premiership.
But since then, Clarkson and members of that flag team like Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge, Lance Franklin and Cyril Rioli have experienced the agony of finals near-misses.
In 2011, the Hawks led Collingwood by three goals at three-quarter time in a preliminary final only to go down by three points.
Then after winning last year's minor premiership, the Hawks led the Swans by two goals at the 11-minute mark of the final term of the Grand Final, but were again overrun.
But on Friday night it was the Hawks who finished with the wind in their sails, coming back from a 20-point three-quarter time deficit to run out five-point winners over Geelong.
Clarkson said the Hawks' win was proof of the "fine line between pleasure and pain".
But the coach said he had not dwelled on what might have been if the Hawks had come up short for a third year in a row, saying history showed teams often had keep presenting year after year in the finals to win a flag.
Clarkson pointed to his mentor Denis Pagan's North Melbourne side of the 1990s that made seven consecutive
preliminary finals from 1994-2000 for two premierships, and to Essendon's dominant 1999-2001 era that netted just the 2000 flag.
"(Premierships) are damn hard to win, and what we're trying to do as a footy club is just give ourselves a chance by getting as high up the ladder and finishing in the top four, knowing full well sometimes the door will open and you'll get an opportunity," Clarkson said.
"Seven prelim finals in a row for the Kangas in that period of time, and they won two flags. And you say, 'Geez, did they do as well as they could?'
"(But) they're bloody hard to win … You've just got to keep presenting and give yourself a chance to open that door when it's available to you.
"We've been a very competitive footy side over the last three or four years, and (we're) delighted that we get another chance in the last dance next week."
Clarkson said the Hawks had room for improvement in the Grand Final, identifying their poor kicking for goal against the Cats and the combined one-goal return from star forwards Franklin, Rioli and Coleman medallist Jarryd Roughead.
"I wouldn't think that those guys have just shared one goal between them in too many games for the Hawks over the last six or eight years," Clarkson said.
"I think we kicked 6.9 or something like that from (set shots and) probably seven of the nine we missed were shots from 40 metres or less, directly in front more or less."
Clarkson said the Hawks had not dwelled on their 11-match losing streak against the Cats – and the 'Kennett Curse' – before Friday night's match.
"It's nice and romantic and it's a great topic of conversation for so many people around the country to speak about it," Clarkson said.
"But the basic thing for us is that we'd worked really hard as a footy club all year to finish on top of the ladder and played really well in a qualifying final against Sydney.
"Despite it being a real arm-wrestle tonight, we feel like what we've been able to achieve over the course of the year (means) we really deserve a chance at a Grand Final."
