JAMES Frawley is used to watching the Grand Final at a mate's place, now he's going to be playing in it.

The Hawks' defender, who switched to the premiers from Melbourne as a free agent during last year's free agency period, believes he now has earned his spot in one of the competition's elite backlines.

The 27-year-old couldn't hide his joy and relief in the minutes after the Hawks' 27-point preliminary final win over Fremantle.

"[It feels] very foreign, very foreign," Frawley said in the minutes after the win.

"It was a pretty hard decision leaving Melbourne, but this is why I did it.

"I can't be happier at the moment, I'm not really sure what to do to be honest."

Frawley reflected on his former teammates and said his move was justified.

"I think the Melbourne boys are in Bali at the moment on a footy trip, so it's probably a bit better being here in the prelim," he said.

The former Demon copped widespread criticism for his performance in the Hawks' qualifying final loss to West Coast a fortnight ago, but his performance on Friday night - after shutting down Adelaide's Taylor Walker last week - was welcome redemption.

"The tempo goes up, the crowd gets louder, but it's what you play footy for to play at the pointy end of the year," Frawley said.

He said he'd taken the flak on the chin.

"It's pretty hard, coming in with blokes like Gibbo, Hodgey, all these superstars of the game," he said.

Frawley said he now feels like he belongs at the Hawks.

"You've just got to try to earn your stripes and put your best foot forward, and yeah I feel like I'm part of the team now and got all the boys' respect," he said.

Frawley notched 18 disposals, four contested, and took eight uncontested marks.