HAWTHORN's dominant 59-point win over Fremantle at Optus Stadium on Sunday might have provided the percentage boost the club requires to cement a place in the top eight. 

But the Hawks remain some distance from their best and will need to iron out their inconsistencies before they compete with the League's heavyweights, according to coach Alastair Clarkson. 

Hawthorn gained 3.7 per cent from the victory and leapfrogged Sydney and Geelong into seventh place on the ladder. 

HAWKS CRUSH DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats

Clarkson's men have the third-best percentage in the AFL – behind Richmond (first with 137.8) and Melbourne (sixth, 127.3) – and are separated from third-placed Collingwood by just a game. 

The Hawks face challenging contests with Essendon (MCG), Geelong (MCG) and Sydney (SCG) in the run home, but will be helped by head-to-head fixtures between several other finals contenders. 

"You've just got to play as well as you possibly can when you get the chances and if you can win a game and win it comfortably then I'm certain it's going to help at the end of the year because it's really, really tight," Clarkson said post-match.

"In terms of ladder position, it could be the difference between either a top-four position or not getting the double chance and, in actual fact, it could be the difference between making it or not, too.

"We're in that bracket of sides where we can finish as high as top four or we could finish as low as not making it all. 

"Especially with how tight the ladder is, you don't go into the game looking anything else except to get the four points so to win by a comfortable margin is really pleasing."

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Since cutting ties with club legends Sam Mitchell (end of 2016), Jordan Lewis (2016) and Luke Hodge (2017), Hawthorn's best 22 has taken on a significantly different look. 

Against Fremantle, the Hawks fielded six players with fewer than 50 games experience while Tom Mitchell, Jaeger O'Meara, Jarman Impey and Ricky Henderson were among those poached from other clubs. 

Clarkson said the players were yet to fully gel, and that his team needed to become more consistent to compete with the competition's elite. 

"When we become as consistent as the Richmonds and the West Coasts and these sorts of sides, in terms of that application, then we'll be in a position to seriously challenge but we're still finding that out," he said. 

WATCH  Alastair Clarkson's full post-match media conference

"The evolution of our side has changed a fair bit in the last two to three years. We're all about trying to find our next squad of players that are serious challenging at the end of the year. 

"We've been pleased with the progress we've made. We feel like we've made a step forward and seen the development of some younger players.

"In terms of our method and them getting more exposure, we've also shown that we're a little bit inconsistent in our application. 

"I'm not sure whether that's going to be this year, next year or perhaps the year after but all we do know is we're building towards that and we're excited with where we're going." 

Hawthorn emerged from the clash with a clean bill of health and faces Essendon at the MCG in six days. 

The Bombers will enter the fixture on the back of an eight-day break after outgunning Sydney by 43 points at Etihad Stadium on Friday.