Lewis, who was just three when the Hawks won back-to-back premierships after beating Geelong in 1989, believes this weekend’s season decider could be just as brutal as that epic clash 19 years ago.
The hard-nosed Hawks of 2008, known by some for their "unsociable" brand of footy, know they will have to dish it up to Mark Thompson’s Geelong side, who have lost just one match this season.
But Lewis, the rugged midfielder from Warrnambool, was willing to talk the talk following his side’s recovery session at Waverley on Sunday.
“I think if you look over finals over the past sort of 150 years, finals are won with tough and hard bodies, and that’s what we’ve got,” Lewis said.
“There’s not really one guy that stands out in finals. It’s completely a team effort, it’s won around the contest, and it’s won with hard bodies, and you’ve just got to get the ball moving forward.”
The Hawks have been known for their physical, bang-crash style throughout the course of their stellar season.
Several players have incurred the wrath of the AFL Tribunal in doing so, and on their road to the grand final, have had to find the right levels of controlled aggression.
Lewis knows the heat will be on in the biggest game of their lives this Saturday, but they will need to keep their heads as they try to bring down the reigning premiers.
“You’ve just got to channel all your aggression at the ball and if you hurt someone in the process, you hurt someone," he said.
“But you can’t get reported doing anything untoward or anything stupid.”
While rating the Cats’ all-star onballers the “best midfield in the competition”, the in-form left-footer believes he and his brown and gold mates stack up well against Geelong.
On Saturday night in their preliminary final romp against St Kilda, the Hawks’ midfield controlled proceedings around the stoppages. But Lewis knows he’s in for a tougher time against the Cats.
“I think Geelong’s a totally different team to St Kilda, and they’re more mature bodies,” he said.
“You’ve got guys like [Cameron] Ling and those sort of guys who are really hard to move off the ball.”
Hawthorn showed in its round 16 clash with Geelong that it could compete with the reigning champs.
While the Cats will have a couple of additions to their team on Saturday that didn’t play that night, Lewis is confident that if his side plays with its typical ferocity – and the spirit showed by Luke Hodge – then it is capable of going all the way.
Hodge played out the preliminary final despite appearing to suffer a rib injury, and while Lewis played down his vice-captain’s ailment – even suggesting the blood he spat during the match might have been caused by Hodge having “bit his tongue” – he said Hodge's effort to continue playing was courageous.
“I think it’s typical 'Hodgey',” he said.
“Even if he’s got a broken arm, he’ll still probably want to come out and play, and that’s just the type of guy he is. He’s just a tough, hard [player], probably one of our best leaders at the club, and for him to go off injured and come back on, still spitting out blood, and keep playing ... I think we can draw off it as players.
“No matter how hurt you are, you’ve got to get back out there and try to do your thing for the team.”
