RICHMOND didn't unlock any secrets about Hawthorn's game style on Friday night and the upset loss to the Tigers hasn't shaken the Hawks' belief that their best is better than the rest, veteran Sam Mitchell says.
The Tigers thwarted the red-hot reigning premiers with a 'keeping-off' possession game and ferocious pressure in an 18-point victory at the MCG.
It was Richmond's third win from four starts against the Hawks – masterminded by former Hawthorn assistant Damien Hardwick – and cut short an eight-game winning run by Alastair Clarkson's outfit.
While Mitchell was quick to credit the Tigers, who had 50 more kicks and 42 more uncontested marks, he didn't think the loss exposed any secret for rivals to copy in the run home.
"They played really well, put a lot of pressure on us and forced us to do a lot of things we didn't really want to do," Mitchell said.
"But by the same token we feel like there's quite a few components to the game that were in our control that we didn't handle all that well. If we play them again I don't feel like they’re definitely going to win because they've unlocked some sort of secret."
Mitchell said the Hawks didn't try to hide their playing style, and remained confident that Clarkson's blueprint for success would hold up against any opponent.
"We feel like if we can play our best footy then that will be good enough to beat any of the other sides," he said.
"We feel like we're able to restrict a fair bit of what the opposition are trying to do most weeks. So we feel like we've got a blueprint that's pretty good, and if a few things fall our way we feel like we're going to be thereabouts come the first weekend in October."
The Richmond loss left the third-placed Hawks six points behind this week's opponents, West Coast, with the prospect of playing a qualifying final in Perth if they lose two-in-a-row for the first time since round 10 last season.
"There's a little bit too long to go to worry about finals positions just yet," Mitchell said.
"Ideally you wouldn't want to be travelling to Perth in the first week of finals, but that's not to say it (winning there) can't be done."
The Hawks will face a side led by another of their former assistant coaches when they fly west for Saturday night's clash.
Adam Simpson has been lauded as one of the coaches of the year for lifting the Eagles into second spot despite the loss of key defenders Eric Mackenzie and Mitch Brown.
"They've been great, haven't they? The early part of the season while they were finding their feet they lost a couple of key defenders and everyone was writing them off," Mitchell said.
"It shows that it's not about the personnel out on the field, it's about the system that you play.
"I think ‘Simmo’ … has put together a really good system and they're all playing very much on the same page.
"We've got a big challenge this week."
The Hawks have won two of their past four matches at Domain Stadium, and Mitchell, 32, expected his teammates would enjoy the longer dimensions of the ground, but warned nullifying the Eagles – led by ruckman Nic Naitanui - at the centre bounce would be crucial.
"It's a damn big ground, nice and long. They play it really well," he said.
"It probably suits us a little bit … we know that if you can get it in your front half at Subi, it's quite hard to get it out of there and it's a long way to the other end to score.
"So I think the centre bounce will be really important, trying to get the game played in your own half and trying to use the open space of Subi."
