Current ladder position: 3rd (12 wins, 2 losses)
The run home:
Sydney Swans (4th) at the MCG
St Kilda (8th) at Telstra Dome
Geelong (1st) at the MCG
Collingwood (5th) at the MCG
Brisbane Lions (6th) at Aurora Stadium
Richmond (11th) at the MCG
West Coast (15th) at Subiaco Oval
Carlton (9th) at Telstra Dome
Where to from here?
With only two losses so far, the Hawks should retain their top-four spot if they continue their good form in the remaining eight rounds. While the Sydney Swans are 10 premiership points behind, the gap to fifth-placed Collingwood is 16 – four wins.
However, the high-flying Hawks haven’t got an easy run home. They face a tough five weeks after the split round with the Swans, St Kilda, Geelong, Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions all looking to consolidate their campaigns.
Crunch games:
Round 15: Sydney Swans (h)
Round 17: Geelong (h)
The last time Hawthorn met the Swans, in round 22 last year, the latter won by 72 points. But times have changed.
However, one of the biggest clashes of the season comes in round 17 when the Hawks take on premier Geelong at the MCG. It'll tell a lot about both sides.
Injury list:
Chance Bateman (corked quad) test
Tim Clarke (quad) test
Stuart Dew (general soreness) test
Jordan Lewis (corked thigh) test
Cameron Stokes (hamstring) test
Simon Taylor (knee) test
Brad Sewell (shoulder, appendix) test
Shane Crawford (knee) 1 week
Beau Muston (knee) season
Max Bailey (knee) season
Who's gonna save us?
The Hawks have a number of big names coming back into the side that should have an influence, including Chance Bateman, Brad Sewell and Simon Taylor. And Shane Crawford, when fit, will only strengthen the midfield.
Suspension and injury have challenged Alastair Clarkson all year, but he could end up with some welcome selection dilemmas.
What the club says:
"We’ll be getting a lot of guys back from injury after the break but, realistically, because the guys haven’t been playing together we won’t hit our best until around round 17 or 18. But by then we should be at our strongest for the season and playing our best football hopefully.
"We’re not looking at what ladder position we want to finish at this stage. We’re not looking any further than the next four weeks. We have to nail the next month so we can have a look at where we’re going to end up in the eight, if at all.
"It’s a crucial month of football for a lot of sides and a lot of teams will be looking at it with regard to how they set up their year. So it really sets the scene for the rest of the season." – assistant coach Damien Hardwick
