Hawthorn star defender Jarman Impey has expressed his belief in what Hawthorn is building week by week, through strong defensive cohesion and a special feeling around the club.

Impey spoke on RSN on Monday Morning about his sides performance on Sunday against the Blues.

“I think for us, we lost last week which was devastating but we always react really well the week after, so it shows tremendous growth of the leadership in the group,” Impey said.

“I feel like we rise to occasions which is a good thing. We’ve had a couple of tough losses this year, but we’ve been able to learn from it and it’s the most pleasing thing.

“With an atmosphere like that (84,000 plus at the MCG), we knew that it was going to be a big game, a big crowd and the weather was sensational, so I was a little bit nervous thinking how are we going to handle today but the boys came out, played our role and we played a good brand of football, it was great to be a part of yesterday.

As an integral part of the Hawks defensive unit, Impey is well equipped to detail the importance of the Hawks defensive pressure in recent weeks.

Across the last 10 games, Hawthorn is ranked first in the competition for points against, conceding just 67.2 points.

“I think one of our biggest strengths is we do run in waves, and we do use the numbers, I think that’s important that we don’t bypass that as well, so we do get an advantage and use the numbers on attack,” Impey told RSN.

“I think pressure plays a big part in the way we play our brand, it needs to be done in the middle of the ground and as forwards as well putting on that chase pressure, that hack kick if you like can come the defender’s way and we can rebound off that.

“Pressure is a big factor for us and there was a lot of pressure in yesterday’s performance.”

Impey said it’s a very exciting time within the four walls of the club and externally as the excitement builds, but he confirmed they’re still taking it week by week.

“Personally, it’s exciting time… It’s so good to be in the hunt again,” he said.

“There’s a lot of work that’s gone behind the scenes the last couple of years, so we just kept working and it’s so good to be I suppose relevant in a way to hopefully chase a few more wins by the end of the season, so there’s a lot of excitement going around the club and a lot of belief at the moment.

“But we keep saying we’ve got to take it one week at a time, I know that’s cliché but me personally, I don’t like to look too far ahead but I’m very excited by the way that we’re playing, the way that we’re gelling, the way that we’re leading as a group.

“It’s a special feeling at the moment and hopefully we can keep up this special feeling for as long as possible.”