It was Round 15, June 30, the end of the financial year, and Hawthorn’s 2019 account appeared bankrupt.

Buoyed as Hawks fans may have been by their side getting within a kick of reigning premiers the West Coast Eagles, the reality was Hawthorn had just completed a month made up of four losses.

A challenging match-up against then-second-placed Collingwood loomed.

But, instead of recording its first five-game losing streak since early in the 2010 season, the Magpies game represented a turn-around of dramatic proportions.

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After overcoming Collingwood, Alastair Clarkson’s side has since defeated the ladder leaders Geelong as well as fellow finals hopeful Fremantle.

It puts the Hawks in the company of just three other teams, Richmond, Brisbane and Essendon, who have had a perfect success rate over the past three weeks.

What has underlined the side’s swift form reversal has been the defensive intent Clarkson has emphasised.

One of the Hawks’ best in the win over Geelong, midfielder Jaeger O’Meara attributed the side’s adherence to defensive principles as the primary element of its purple patch.

“We’ve had a really high focus on our defensive stuff as a team over the past few weeks, so it was good to keep the Cats to a minor score this week,” O’Meara said post-match.

The Hawks will now face Brisbane this weekend in their most important game of the year.

Another win and the brown and gold are then breathing firmly down the neck of sides in the bottom half of the eight.