JORDAN Lewis has sounded a warning to Hawthorn's rivals, saying the Hawks still have room for improvement despite their strong form.
The back-to-back premiers beat Fremantle and the Sydney Swans in consecutive weeks, before recording their biggest win ever against Carlton on Friday night.
But Lewis is confident there's another gear for his teammates to find and said the Hawks were still focused on playing their best football when it matters in finals.
"I think we've got a group at the moment where we require little tweaks," he said.
"There's certainly improvement that we want in our game. Even on Friday night we probably didn't play well early on in the game – our start was a little bit shaky – so that's something we'll address."
"I think in 2012 we probably peaked too early, but that was driven by a few bad losses early on in the season, so I think that was (for) different reasons. You can't control how well you play, that's the hardest thing.
"You'd love to play good in September, and we're still preparing ourselves to play good in September. But the by-product might be we play well early on as well."
Lewis said it was hard to compare Hawthorn teams from recent years, although he believed the current side was the most versatile under Alastair Clarkson's tenure.
"I think that's been the by-product of maybe a few injuries that we've had through midfield, so we've had to roll a few more players through there, and then the players have actually played well in that position," he said.
"So it gives them another string to their bow where they can come in, perform in the midfield, and then go either back or forward.
"And it also gives guys like myself, Hodgey (Luke Hodge) and Mitch (Sam Mitchell) the chance to play another position and maybe have a rest."
That flexibility means key defender James Frawley is no certainty to return against Richmond for Friday night's blockbuster at the MCG, with premiership backman Matt Spangher set to miss with a hamstring strain.
Lewis said Frawley, who got through a half unscathed in Box Hill's VFL loss on Sunday after shoulder injuries, would be in contention, as would Taylor Duryea (shoulder), Ben Stratton (ankle) and Liam Shiels (corked quad).
The Hawks will be vying for their ninth straight win on Friday, and their second in a row against the Tigers after beating them by 66 points in round six last year.
Damien Hardwick's outfit had the better of the Hawks in 2012 and 2013, but Lewis doubted the former Hawthorn assistant had Alastair Clarkson's current outfit "worked out".
