HAWTHORN’S Rick Ladson says his side will use club veteran Shane Crawford’s 300 game milestone to inspire them to victory against the Brisbane Lions this weekend.

“We really want to get a win for Shane because he’s been outstanding for our football club and for the AFL in general,” Ladson said.

“He’s put so much work into, not only getting himself right and helping the team but, helping individual players through training sessions.”

And as far as Ladson was concerned, you couldn’t play at a better ground than Aurora. The Hawk gave the Tasmanian ground a strong endorsement.

“It’s a great ground to play on and probably the best surface in the AFL.”

Hawthorn’s clash against the Lions starts a four-week spell against sides all currently languishing outside the eight, but Ladson insisted his side wouldn’t be taking anything for granted in the next month.

“We’re playing teams who are vying for a spot in the eight and pushing for finals so they’re not going to be easy games. What we want to do over the next four weeks is find our form and play some consistent football going into finals.”

And although Ladson mentions the “F” word, he said that although it’s difficult, having had their first taste of September football last year since 2001, the playing group is trying not to look any further than the next month.

“We don’t talk about finals even though we know they’re coming. We’ve just got to concentrate on the next four weeks.”

Click here to read Ladson’s full interview.