HAWTHORN won't back off from its intimidating brand of football against Essendon on Saturday, with coach Alastair Clarkson encouraging the Hawks to play "close to the line" against their fierce rivals.
Two more Hawks ran foul of the Match Review Panel after last week's win over Adelaide, with defenders Josh Gibson and Ben Stratton copping $1000 fines for striking offences.
The incidents followed suspensions for Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis for crude high hits following a bruising win over North Melbourne in round five.
Despite his players crossing the line on those occasions, Clarkson said the Hawks wouldn't shy away from the physical brand of football that has delivered them three flags since 2008.
"We know we play our best footy when we play close to the line and unfortunately for us that means sometimes crossing over it," Clarkson said on Friday.
"That happened in a couple of instances in the North Melbourne game with Hodgey and Jordan and last week – albeit very, very minor incidents – it happened too.
"If you want to play tough, physical, hard footy against really, really good opponents in hostile environments like Adelaide you've got to play close to the line.
"We want to play within the rules as best we can, sometimes we just go outside of them, we've just got to be careful and mindful we don’t do that too often."
The Hawks and Bombers played an instant classic the last time they met in round two, with the Dons coming from 16 points down in the final term to win by two.
Clarkson said his side wasn't worried about exacting revenge for that defeat, or by the fact that a set play where Dons defender Cale Hooker drifted forward and kicked a wobbly goal proved the difference last time.
"Every side has their set plays, particularly in crunch parts of games whether its late in quarters or when it's around a (close) margin – and you don't always get them right," Clarkson said.
"Sometimes the element of luck plays a part in it as well. I'm sure they weren't anticipating Hooker was going to kick an inside-out torp to nail that goal.
"Sometimes you nail them, sometimes your setup's perfect but then the bounce of the ball doesn't go your way.
"You don't worry about them too much."
The teams' fortunes have followed contrasting paths since their last encounter, with the Hawks (7-4) eyeing their fourth-straight win and on the verge of breaking into the top four.
Essendon (4-7) is desperate to arrest a three-game losing streak, with James HIrd's outfit languishing in 13th on the ladder.
"They've been probably a bit disappointed with their form over the last little while and we expect with the break that they'll come out with a pretty ferocious intent and that will mean some pretty fierce contests I would imagine," Clarkson said.
The Dons will be missing a host of key players – including David Zaharakis, Travis Colyer, Paul Chapman and Dustin Fletcher – from their best 22 this Saturday.
Hawthorn has the luxury of a near full-strength list to pick from and has brought back Grant Birchall (ankle) while forward Jack Gunston could wear a glove to protect a dislocated finger.
"We don't have a best 22, we've got probably 35 players on our list that can all come in and make contributions," Clarkson said.
"We've got good depth at our club and we know that squads really help enormously in terms of winning the premiership over the course of the year when they become available to play for you."
