IT MIGHT have been way back in round one, but Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson hasn't forgotten the torching from superstar Patrick Dangerfield and Geelong's band of midfielders in a stunning five-goal defeat.
Playing his first game for the Cats, Dangerfield destroyed the Hawks with 43 touches and took an early mark of the year contender in one of the best performances on a club debut in memory.
Dangerfield's dominance allowed skipper Joel Selwood and Mitch Duncan off the leash, while Josh Caddy and Zac Smith – also on his Cats debut – both bobbed up with three majors.
And if that happens again, Clarkson says the Hawks can forget about knocking off their arch-rivals in Friday night's blockbuster qualifying final.
"(Dangerfield is) a great player, but in the same breath (so are) Selwood, Caddy and (Jimmy) Bartel and these sort of guys that roll through the middle of the ground," Clarkson said.
"(Mark) Blicavs is a really important player for them, as are their two rucks.
"They've got enormous depth through the middle of the ground and it's no secret that's going to be a key battle for the contest.
"If we can get enough supply in that part of the ground then we give ourselves a chance.
"But in the early game that we played this year, they won that battle through the middle of the ground and it cost us the game."
While that round one clash was played in near perfect conditions, the wet weather forecast for Friday night throws an unknown element into the mix.
Between five-to-fifteen millimetres of rain is predicted, however Clarkson was confident his side could adapt to the conditions – pointing to the Hawks' Grand Final triumph over West Coast last year in record heat.
"We didn't go to Darwin to acclimatise for last year's Grand Final. We've all played in those conditions before, so we'll get ourselves ready for what should be a fierce battle," he said.
"The MCG is a fantastic ground, drains really well and who knows when and how much impact the rain will have on the game.
"We'll pick a side we think can beat Geelong in any conditions and we'll adjust accordingly both before the game and during the game if we need to, depending on how much rain comes."
The Hawks are expected to welcome back ruckman Ben McEvoy (back/glute) and defender Ben Stratton (pec), with developing big man Marc Pittonet and youngster Ryan Burton most likely to make way.
Hawthorn's short injury list should see the three-time defending premiers take an experienced finals team in to face the Cats, and Clarkson dismissed concerns over his team's at times scratchy form over the past month.
"We're not really too concerned about form lines and that sort of stuff, you've got to win games of footy in September, not August, June, July," the coach said.
"Our form in September is pretty strong and that's where our genuine focus is.
"If we can reproduce that type of form in finals we're going to be hard to beat."
