GRANT Birchall has seen it before – an off-the-boil performance leading into finals – and he's confident Hawthorn will bounce back from Friday night's shock 22-point loss to Port Adelaide.
The Hawks were strangely flat in a game critical to their top-two hopes, as they let the Power surge to a morale-boosting early lead at Etihad Stadium that they clung to for most of the contest.
Birchall didn't think the Hawks took Port – who they faced in an epic preliminary final last year – lightly, despite the visitors' underwhelming 9-10 standing heading into the clash.
But he pointed to the Hawks' recent record of dropping matches late in the season before they clicked into top gear and peeled off a run of victories.
Two years ago, Hawthorn suffered a surprise 41-point belting from Richmond in round 19, before hitting their straps with seven straight victories as they overcame Fremantle in the Grand Final.
Then last year, the Hawks travelled to Perth and went down to the Dockers by 19 points in round 21, before going on to win their last five in a row and demolishing the Sydney Swans to clinch back-to-back flags.
"We always seem to have a bit of a lapse or a bit of a loss this time of year, so hopefully that really galvanises the group from here on and we really knuckle in and stay united," Birchall told AFL.com.au.
The typically unflappable triple-premiership defender said the Hawks held no fears about a potential trip to Domain Stadium in a qualifying final, having conquered West Coast at the venue just three games ago.
"Nah, no dramas, we've proved that we can win over there," he said. "So if that's the case we'll just get on with it."
If the trip west eventuates, the Hawks will need to be cleaner in possession after they missed targets by foot and hand against the Power, fumbled under little pressure and their leaders failed to their will on the contest.
Ranked No.1 in the AFL for possessions per game, the Hawks only managed 345 against Port, who controlled the play with 403 disposals – including 22 more contested possessions.
"We were a fair way off. They dominated us in all areas of the ground really," Birchall said.
"They deserved to win tonight. We're going to have to have a good look at ourselves and bounce back next week."
