IT IS fair to say the Hawks experienced a bit of a ‘different’ build-up to Saturday night’s match against Essendon, but Rick Ladson maintains the focus of the group did not waver at any point.

And it is equally reasonable to assert that a few days of intense media scrutiny did not affect Lance Franklin one bit.

“After our first loss last week we were pretty determined to come out and win anyway,” Ladson said after Hawthorn dispatched with the Bombers to the tune of 51 points at Telstra Dome.

“But we did have a couple of hairy days at the start [of the week] and we’ve come away with the four points so it’s good.

“It wasn’t an issue really; they [Alastair Clarkson and Lance Franklin] are pretty resilient blokes at the footy club. Buddy came out and played a ripping game and we knew we had a job to do and that’s what we came and did. We didn’t really worry too much about what was happening in the media.

“[Buddy’s] very mature for his age and he obviously showed tonight that he’s a great player. He played his role and kicked nine, so it was good.”

The win wasn’t quite as comfortable as the final margin indicates with the gritty Dons matching the Hawks for intensity to trail by just seven points at the main break.

“We kicked away on the scoreboard towards the end, but they were still putting a lot of pressure on,” agreed Ladson.

“They were up there all night so it was a good test. It is important in tight games like that to be able to kick away at some stage.

“We just stuck to our guns really. We were doing the same things, just trying to get in and under and win the footy and get our game up and running.”

The Hawks are without quality players such as Stuart Dew, Brent Guerra, Brad Sewell and Shane Crawford at the moment and Ladson said the win was a testament to some of the young talent coming through.

“We’ve got a few guys out that are normally in the first 22, but the guys that have come in are playing their roles and doing what they have to do,” he said.

“When those guys come back in we’ll be even better, so that’s something to look forward to.”