HAWTHORN'S tough 11-point loss to Greater Western Sydney on Saturday night has dented its finals chances, but far from ended them according to Coach Alastair Clarkson.

The Hawks were outclassed in a lot of areas by the Giants but fought back from multiple deficits of 20+ points during the clash, and at one stage trailed by just five when ruckman Ben McEvoy kicked truly midway through the final term at Spotless Stadium.

But to drop the four points to GWS, who jumped above Hawthorn and into the top eight with the result, was a blow for Clarkson's men.

Read: Match report Hawks v Giants

They play the in-form Western Bulldogs next week, and Clarkson is confident his team can not only rebound at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, but still challenge for a finals spot.

"We're going to need to play some good footy," he said after the loss.

"We felt that we didn't play anywhere near our capacity and only lost by two goals.

"It's a pretty even season and we're eight and six, so if we win more games than we lose in the second half of the season it's going to give us a real chance.

"But we need to get going again."

The Hawks were dealt a blow when gun forward Jack Gunston was a late withdrawal from the match with a corked calf.

The absence of the versatile Gunston hurt the visitors' flexibility, with Hawthorn's forward line struggling for potency, with the exception of Luke Breust, for most of the night.

Clarkson swung star defender James Sicily forward at the final change, and he admitted that if Gunston was on the field he could have made the move earlier.

Sicily kicked one goal and should have nailed another set shot in the last term, and looked dangerous inside 50.

WATCH: Alastair Clarkson's full post match media conference

"We didn't want to leave ourselves wondering what might have been, so we mixed up a few things and gave ourselves a chance," Clarkson said.

"The Sicily move looked OK for us, but ultimately didn’t get enough scoreboard pressure."

Gunston is expected to be fit to take on the Bulldogs and travelled to Sydney as he was so close to playing against GWS.