BEING the only side to beat Sydney in almost three months gives Hawthorn an edge when the two teams resume their rivalry at the MCG on Friday night, Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson says.
The Swans are on a seven-match winning streak, with their last loss a six-point defeat at the SCG when a goal in the dying minutes from Jarryd Roughead put Hawthorn in front.
After an 0-6 start, John Longmire's men have won 10 of 11 matches to catapult themselves into premiership contention.
Clarkson said at Waverley on Thursday there was something to that result.
"It gives us a little bit of confidence, the fact that we're the only side that's beaten them in the last 10 or 11 weeks, and that was on their patch as well. It's always difficult to win up there so we take some confidence out of that," Clarkson said.
Hawthorn hasn't beaten Sydney at the MCG since the 2014 Grand Final and it hasn't lost to the Swans interstate in over three years.
"Our history with this mob over the last three of four years is we've been able to beat them up there and they've been able to beat us down here so that's a little bit of a quirk really. You'd think you'd have home ground advantage but we've been suited to playing on foreign territory."
Sydney has been public about its approach of targeting at least one opposition player every time it takes to the field.
The Hawks coach was wary of that but pointed to the example of Melbourne's Tom Bugg, who copped a six-week suspension for a king hit on Swans young gun Callum Mills, as an example of what could happen if his side focused on that.
"It's a difficult one because you need to channel your aggression at the football and the opposition when they've got it. The off-the-ball niggling and that sort of stuff, as you can see if you don't manage it well, like Buggy didn't handle it too well three or four weeks ago, it can easily take your mind and focus off what you need to do," he said.
Some of the club's injured stars took to the track, with Jaeger O'Meara (knee) and Josh Gibson (groin) training.
Clarkson confirmed O'Meara was at least a fortnight away from returning to action.
The side remains a slim finals chance, trailing eighth-placed Essendon on the ladder by six points.
Clarkson acknowledged it would be tough to appear in September action for an eighth-straight season.
"We're uncertain whether we're going to feature later in the year. (It's) probably more unlikely than likely but every opportunity we get against some of these sides (will) gives us a little bit of a gauge about where we're going with the future of our club," Clarkson said.
