HAWTHORN speedster Bradley Hill loves the big stage and hopes that tonight’s qualifying final against Geelong will help stake his claim as a big-game player.

Last year saw Hill have first taste of September and he performed well in all three finals. His trademark gut-running came to the fore in the last quarter of the Grand Final, when after a searching run, he found himself in the goal square and dribbled through a critical goal.

"I like playing against the best teams," he said in an interview for this week's AFL Record. "It's more of a challenge. What I tried to do in the finals last year was to treat them like any other game."

Hawthorn midfield coach Cameron Bruce said the Hawks hold few fears about Hill's ability to stand-up in the white-hot glare of finals football. "The confidence he has to take the game on means he can utilise his speed and we take great benefit from him."

Hill, who is due to return to the side tonight after resting a sore knee in round 23, is bracing himself for another installment of the great rivalry between the Hawks and the Cats.

"Always close and tough," he said of games against Geelong. "Nobody has control or momentum for four quarters. I like playing those games when it is a good, hard contest for four quarters. You have to be mentally prepared."

Read the full Bradley Hill story, which is part of a feature on game-breakers in the finals, in this weekend’s edition of the AFL Record, which is available at all venues.