HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson sees his champion team edging closer to its peak form after withstanding a "physical assault" from North Melbourne on Friday night. 

The triple-reigning premiers' nine-point win at Etihad Stadium came after the Roos hit them with an imposing opening term that included a number of heavy bumps and off-the-ball scraps.

Clarkson said the Hawks had prepared for the extra physicality in the contest with the ladder-leaders – "We knew it was coming," he said post-match – and he was pleased with the way his team stood firm.

Five talking points: North Melbourne v Hawthorn

"That was a great victory. It was a different sort of game perhaps than a lot of people would have expected in the sense that it was very, very physical and played like a finals game tonight. I'm really proud of the resilience of our group and it was a stirring victory in the end," he said. 

"To stand up to that sort of physical assault, particularly the off-the-ball pressure, was outstanding learning.

"Whether we won or lost it was still outstanding learning, but the fact [the younger players] won a game of footy and know they could still contribute even though possessions were really tight to win for both sides tonight [was important]."

The Hawks' win was their 10th of the season and saw them jump into second position on the ladder. They face Gold Coast next week at Aurora Stadium in Launceston before having their bye in round 15.

Clarkson said the Hawks' slow start against the Roos – they trailed by 15 points at the opening change and had just 65 first-quarter disposals – didn't dent their belief they could turn things around. 

"It was fierce and it was on. We didn't have as good a first quarter as what we would've liked and we couldn't get our hands on the footy, but that was good stoppage work and clearance work by the Kangaroos," Clarkson said.

"We just hung in there and we thought to ourselves that it was going to be really hard for North Melbourne to hold us down for four quarters. If we just persevered we [thought] we'd find an avenue to goal somewhere as long as we stayed positive.

"It's hard to play in a physical manner like that for the full four quarters, and the game did start to open up and there were many more goals scored in the second half than the first.

James Sicily's emergence as a goalkicker continued against the Roos, with the 21-year-old a matchwinner with five goals. 

Fellow Hawks youngster Billy Hartung (two goals from 14 disposals) was also important in the second half, alongside premiership stars Cyril Rioli, Jordan Lewis and Shaun Burgoyne who all lifted to help Hawthorn scrape past the injury-riddled Roos.

WATCH Alastair Clarkson's full media conference

Clarkson said the Hawks had "absorbed" everything that was thrown at them, in what was a good sign the club was playing close to its best football of the season.

"You could throw a blanket over eight or nine sides, and maybe even 10 who could all put their hands up at different stages this year and say they're genuine top-four aspirants. It's a pretty tight competition," Clarkson said.

"We're pleased we've won 10 games but we just add them up and hopefully we've got enough to finish top four. That's our goal…we're not embarrassed to tell the whole football world that's what we set out to do at the start of the year.

"Then a new season starts in September. That'll be our goal once again."

There were spotfires all over the ground on Friday night. Picture: AFL Media