ALASTAIR Clarkson says his team is looking forward to the contest against Geelong in a blockbuster qualifying final tomorrow night at the MCG.

Speaking to the media before training today, the Hawthorn coach said both sides had earned the right to finish in the top four and secure a home preliminary final should they win tomorrow.

“We’re looking forward to the contest. Both sides have worked really hard to get themselves into a position where they get an MCG final and if they play well they get themselves into a prelim,” he said.

“Geelong are going to be well tuned, they’ve played some great footy throughout the course of the year, particularly the last month, and we need to be at our best to beat them.

“It’s going to be pretty fierce finals footy, so both sides will be having a pretty genuine crack at it I reckon.”

Much has been made of the newly introduced bye post-Round 23, but the four-time premiership coach said it hadn’t phased the Hawks.

“It is what it is. You make do with what’s presented in front of you and the AFL in their wisdom have put a bye in after Round 23, so you adjust your program accordingly,” Clarkson said.

“What it does enable players to do is refresh and get their bodies right.”

The Hawks had to do it the hard way against Collingwood in Round 23, but Clarkson says previous form counts for little in September.

“We’re not too concerned about form lines or that sort of stuff. You’ve got to win games of footy in September, not August, June or July,” he said.

“Our form in September has been pretty strong and that’s where our genuine focus is. If we can reproduce that kind of form we’re going to be hard to beat.”

Hawthorn have proved the masters of close games in 2016, winning six games by ten points or less.

But no team intends to play so many tight matches.

“We don’t plan to have close games, no one really does. You focus on playing your best footy and hope that’s going to get you across the line,” Clarkson said.

“When (that situation) is presented to us we back our players to cope with what’s in front of them.

“We’ve been able to do that numerous times over the course of this year and indeed the last five or six years.”

Patrick Dangerfield looms as one of Geelong’s main weapons in the midfield, but other players can get off the leash if you focus on one player, says Clarkson.

“(Dangerfield) is a great player, but in the same breath Selwood, Caddy, Bartel and those sorts of guys roll through the middle of the ground,” he said.

“Blicavs is a really important player for them, as are their two rucks – so they’ve got enormous depth through the middle of the ground and it’s no secret that’s going to be a key battle for the contest.

“If we can get enough supply in that part of the ground we give ourselves a chance.”

Hawthorn will name their team to take on Geelong at 6.25pm AEST.