The Hawthorn VFLW side suffered its second loss of the season on Saturday, as Darebin proved too strong at Bill Lawry Oval.

The Hawks now sit a game and a half behind the first-placed Collingwood, while Darebin will now look to make a late-season assault on the top four with three home and away matches remaining.

Read: VFLW match report - Round 13

Hawks Coach Paddy Hill says, despite the loss, there were still plenty of positives to take away from the game namely his side's improved resilience.

"Last year we probably didn't hang in there in a game like that," Hill said.

"When things went against us like in the second quarter, stages of the third and definitely in the last, the tide was turning against us but we were able to claw our way out of it.

"Certainly today we showed enough mental toughness, but we made a couple errors that cost us a couple of goals and that was probably the difference at the end of the day." 

The side will now turn their attention to taking on the Western Bulldogs at Box Hill City Oval next Sunday.

Hill says it will be exciting to play at the home ground, having not run out there since Round 9. 

"It will be good to get back home after a few weeks on the road.

"We've answered pretty much every challenge but it's always good to play back on your home deck.

"They're a very good side, the Bulldogs, with a lot of talent in their team so we'll need to bring our best effort again and see how it falls."