DEFENDER Campbell Brown believes the Hawks have their fitness staff to thank for their 63-point win against the Bombers on Sunday, after the players were given extra days off last week to mentally refresh themselves after a tough fortnight.
The Hawks were downed by the Kangaroos last Sunday in Tasmania, and were generally flat after two consecutive losses and a dip in form.
But rather than rehash the loss to the Roos and dissect it in blow-by-blow detail, the players were given last Monday and Wednesday off, and spent Tuesday's session at the St Kilda Sea Baths before returning to the club for the first time on Thursday.
It was a "mini-break" Brown said was welcomed by the players, and the rejuvenation it promoted was reflected in Sunday's result.
"A lot of credit has to go to the fitness and coaching staff this week," he told hawthornfc.com.au after the win.
"We were a little bit flat after the Kangaroos game, and they basically gave us two or three days off, just to recover and really come to training on Thursday fresh.
"We took that into the game today, and I thought the way we ran out the game and our enthusiasm was probably as good as it has been all year."
While Brown admitted it is hard not to get excited when the Hawks play the dominating football of which they are capable, he said they are still not focussing on finals.
"We've got another pretty tough game next week against Brisbane, and we'll just take it one week at a time at the moment. That's just our aim, and once we get past Brisbane, maybe we can have a look at stuff like finals and top four," he said.
"We knew if we dropped this week we'd really be in trouble come the later part of the year, looking at the finals.
"It was a pretty important game for us, and we came out and played really good footy today, so it was good."
Brown was one of the Hawks' best players on Sunday, as he kept Essendon forward Scott Lucas to just one goal and eight possessions – the second time he has beaten him this season.
"I played on him earlier in the year, and I knew it was going to be a pretty tough day at the office," he said.
"I was quite happy with my game, but most of the credit has to go to the forwards and the midfielders for their pressure throughout the field."
While he agreed he is relishing opportunities to curtail some of the league's best forwards each week, the 23-year-old said his partner-in-crime Trent Croad is welcome to line up on the in-form Jonathan Brown next weekend.
As he sets his sights firmly on how he'll go about stopping the enigmatic Jared Brennan instead, he said he believes the Hawks will need another big team effort if they are to halt the Lions' five-match winning streak.
"I think when you go into a game knowing you've got a pretty important job to do for the side, you get a little bit of extra lift," he said.
"(Brennan) is good on the ground or in the air, so he's pretty unpredictable. I think if we can shut him and Brown out of the game, it will go a long way towards us winning.
"But it's also the midfield we'll need to stop – Simon Black and Luke Power and guys like that, so it's going to take another big effort, but we're looking forward to the challenge."
