AFTER a troubled start to the season on and off the field, Cyril Rioli believes there will be "blue sky" ahead for Hawthorn as the club chases an historic fourth straight flag.
The Hawks were understandably flat in a 14-point loss to the Sydney Swans last Friday night, which came after the shock news of Jarryd Roughead's melanoma recurrence during the week.
Roughead's best mate Jordan Lewis admitted his mind wandered during the game and said players were mentally fatigued ahead of the clash, but Rioli was confident the Hawks were better prepared to take on the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba this Saturday.
"I think we're getting there … there's been a few hurdles over the week, so (we said to each other) let's just try and stick tight and get each other through," Rioli said.
Rioli has also had to deal with the illness of his grandfather in the Northern Territory, which caused him to miss the round eight win over Fremantle.
Meanwhile, assistant coach Adem Yze's mother-in-law recently passed away, and speedy wingman Bradley Hill was on Tuesday night charged with assault for an incident during the pre-season.
"It's been a tough battle for the club over the last couple of weeks, but we're a resilient group and we'll definitely all pull together," Rioli said.
On the field, the Hawks are 6-3 and in a better position than at the same time last year, but cracks are beginning to appear in Alastair Clarkson's formidable side.
Rioli conceded the round two belting of West Coast was the only time Hawthorn had played to its potential this season.
"We're not playing the footy we want to this year, but we've still got a lot of blue sky and a lot of improvement," he said.
"Hopefully, we'll get a lot better as the season goes on and try to keep racking up the wins.
"We're trying to rehearse, trying to get better and hopefully we put ourselves in a really good position at the end of the season."
Although Hawthorn sits seventh on the ladder with a percentage of just 102.7, Rioli insisted the Hawks still had the tools to win another flag.
"We feel we still have the personnel to do it and last year we didn't go so well (early). I think we're in a better position than last year," Rioli said.
The Hawks are entering a favourable stretch of the fixture, and will start raging favourites when they return to the Gabba for the first time since Rioli's fifth career game in round five, 2008.
It will be vice-captain Lewis' 250th game and Roughead, who is recovering from a biopsy on Monday, hopes to travel to Brisbane for the occasion after helping out his teammates during the Swans match.
"He's just waiting on a few test results, but he's been first-class in the way he's carried himself and been around the group, and I think that helps him with his mindset," Rioli said.
The Lions match has extra significance for Rioli, with the AFL celebrating Indigenous culture in the Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
"(It's) very important (to me). It's celebrating our culture and what our Indigenous players have done, mostly in the past, and most of all the 'Dreamtime (at the 'G)' game's going to be awesome," said Rioli, who watched the Hawks' affiliated under-21 Indigenous team the Eastern Eaglehawks play at Waverley on Wednesday.
"I've been playing for a while now so I've seen a few, and it's one of the rounds I definitely enjoy most."
