THE AARON Sandilands moment has arrived. 

He is as dominant a force as we've seen in a finals series. 

In Saturday's preliminary final against the Swans, his tap to Stephen Hill that led to Paul Duffield's second-quarter goal was a rucking masterclass. 

He followed up with a centre square knock to Nathan Fyfe in the third quarter that led to a Michael Walters screamer.

On that occasion, the midfielders drifted towards Sandilands, tracking the ball as if mesmerised, until Fyfe read the cues and took off into space towards goal. 

In the second quarter, Sandilands received great support from Zac Clarke, who just kept putting the ball into the hands of teammates. 

This Saturday, somehow the Hawks have to stop the Dockers getting first use of the ball, so that they win the territory battle and have the ball in their forward half more often than not. 

Winning that territory battle is going to be extraordinarily difficult though. 

Fremantle has the first possession masters of the AFL with David Mundy (153 first possessions), Michael Barlow (141) and Nathan Fyfe (135), as well as Danyle Pearce coming off the square. 

Compare that to Sam Mitchell with 112, Jordan Lewis (101) and Brad Sewell (91). 

In the preliminary finals, Fyfe won first possession eight times and Mitchell won it 10 times. 

One tactic Hawthorn used to matchwinning effect in the last quarter against Geelong on Friday night was third man up.  

Luke Hodge opened the path to the Hawks' first goal of the last quarter when he hit the ball to Paul Puopolo, who kicked the ball inside 50 for Lance Franklin to goal. 

Jordan Lewis managed to go third man up in a defensive stoppage to give the ball to Mitchell (who else) who kicked the ball into space behind the defensive lines. The ball ended up with Jack Gunston who kicked a goal. 

The Hawks had seven third man up hit-outs during the game with Hodge claiming three. Lewis is a third man up specialist with 56 hit-outs during the season. 

Of course, such a tactic is not possible in the centre square. 

And whether the tactic can work to neutralise Sandilands and Clarke's influence at stoppages around the ground is debatable too.

Lewis said the team first backed in their ruckmen, Max Bailey and David Hale, and used third man up when appropriate.
 
"It's situational. You only do it in certain parts of the ground, and if you're free. It also forces the opposition to mind you a little bit more carefully, and adds another dimension to our stoppages."

Clarke and Sandilands don't mind combining at a stoppage to ensure Freo either has the third man up or the opposition is competing against two ruckmen. 

Mundy, Fyfe and Barlow are also adept at being third man up, combining over the season to average about one a game each. 

It means Hawthorn won't get the advantage it did in that department against Geelong.

The battle will be at ground level - scrounging and scrapping and fighting. 

The Hawks will need to think about placing Shaun Burgoyne at the back of the square in an Andrew McLeod type role to stop Fremantle's forward momentum at centre bounces. 

Any clearance needs to be hurried, ruffled and under pressure to create high kicks that give defenders a chance. 

The Hawks won't try to outnumber the Dockers at the stoppage. They are more likely to take a one-on-one approach and have the responsibility to beat their direct opponent. 

Because once the ball is on the ground in Fremantle's forward line, it's harder to get out than a rusty nail. 

The Dockers had 26 tackles inside 50 on Saturday night. Their approach is to hit and strip the opposition, forcing them to refer the pressure backwards and put high balls out of defence to allow their defenders to get across and defend. 

If a stoppage is created, it's no problem either.

That's when big Sandilands lopes into the frame. 

The Dockers are going to be hard to beat. Unless Mitchell, Sewell, Hodge, Burgoyne and Lewis can find a way to win Sandilands' hit-outs, the Hawks are in strife. 

A 211-centimetre former rookie holds the key for Fremantle, and he looks capable of using it to unlock the Dockers' premiership cup cabinet for the first time.