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PREMIERSHIPS didn't ease the pain when a finals exit finally arrived for Hawthorn, with Luke Hodge comparing Friday night's loss to the September defeats of 2011-12 that drove his team to new heights.
The Hawks crashed out of the finals in straight sets with a crushing 23-point loss to the Western Bulldogs, ending their triple-premiership reign.
Hodge said the team had what it took to regroup, having used their 2011 preliminary final loss to Collingwood and 2012 Grand Final defeat to the Sydney Swans to drive one of the game's great eras.
"I know a lot of the guys in there are feeling the same as what we did on those days back then," Hodge said.
"We've had a lot of hiccups in the past, which is what built the last three years.
"It's all about regrouping and working on a lot of things we need to from this year so we can hit next year full of run.
"It's a raw feeling at the moment. The reason I play footy is to play in Grand Finals and win Grand Finals and we've fallen two games short."
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Coach Alastair Clarkson said his team's 104 tackles showed their endeavour was there and Hodge agreed, saying the players "gave it everything".
"Our endeavour, our attack was really good. We just came up against a really good Bulldogs team," he said.
"We had our chances early and didn't capitalise, and then they got it on their terms in that third quarter.
"It was similar to when we played them last time, but we got away with the win last time. This time we didn't."
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The Bulldogs turned the game with a six-goal run in the third quarter, dominating possessions 125-66 for the term and carving through the Hawks with their clean handball and ferocious running.
"It's the speed of their ball movement," Hodge said.
"They won it out of the stoppage and the way they moved the ball really caught us out.
"They got a number of goals out the back because of the way they moved the ball.
"When they got their run going they continued to run, they were composed, and they're an entertaining team when they get it on their terms."
