HAWTHORN players are fresh and raring to go for Saturday’s Preliminary Final against Port Adelaide at the MCG according to Assistant Coach Brendon Bolton.

Veterans of the week off after qualifying a week early for the Preliminary Final for a third straight year, the Hawks are confident in their conditioning and use of the break.

Bolton, who coached the Hawks for five games this season while Alastair Clarkson recovered from illness, says the weekend off will help the Hawks on Saturday.

“This game is brutal and often much of your weeks are spent recovering and freshening up in the normal season so to have a break and be able to manage the individual loads based on what’s needed is really important,” he told hawthornfc.com.au

“The players run some amazing distances at amazing speeds and have so many collisions per game.

“(So) to be able to freshen guys up and make sure they can train at the level their body needs for that week is really important.

“In saying that, we trained well last week and made sure their mindset was in preparing for a game even though we had a break and that’s really important.”

Standing in their way of a third successive grand final appearance is a red-hot Port Adelaide, fresh off an upset win over Fremantle last Saturday night.

The Power has impressed this finals series with their ruthless hard running and ferocious pressure, particularly in the first half against Richmond and in the second half against Freo.

Their transition from defence to attack, led by half-backs Matthew Broadbent, Jasper Pittard and Jared Polec has been among the characteristic of their game that has wreaked havoc on their opposition.

The trio are ranked top three at Port Adelaide for rebound 50s, while Polec is also ranked third for forward 50 entries behind skipper Travis Boak and Brad Ebert.

Bolton says the Hawks, who achieved one of their highest tackle counts for the season against Geelong in the Qualifying Final with 72, will need to apply their own ferocious pressure to stop the Power’s transition game.

“Their transition – some of the ways in which they can bring the ball from defence to the forward line really quickly is impressive,” Bolton said.

“They have really good speed and use the ball well, so we know our defensive action needs to be right on to slow down and limit their transition.

“(But) it’s not just about speed, it’s about ball movement, it’s about your defensive action because a lot of things contribute to winning this game.”