HAWTHORN Assistant Coach Luke Beveridge says the belief within the playing group is strong ahead of tonight’s Preliminary Final against Geelong.

The Hawks haven’t beat the Cats in 11 attempts but with the majority of those losses by 10 points or less, the coaches and players know they’re close to securing victory.

It is that knowledge that is driving Hawthorn and, the knowledge it has overcome a number of challenges this season already that is preparing it with the steely resolve it needs to overcome its rivals in tonight’s cut throat final.

“The recent losses have been really close, so we know we’re closer to knocking them off but we know we’ve got to be better for longer and are really steeling ourselves for the contest,” Beveridge told hawthornfc.com.au

“Everyone is really buoyed by all the work that they’ve put in to give us this opportunity.

“We know last year we almost didn’t make it to a Grand Final, so we’re putting everything into winning this game and hopefully giving us a chance the following week.

“There is a level of excitement because of the awareness of the opportunity that lies on the other side and we’re pretty single-minded about what we need to do.”

Over the course of the last few seasons, the Hawthorn players and coaches have developed a strong sense of belief and trust within one another that has enabled it to win close games and hold it in good stead for the finals series.

That belief and the challenges and tests the Hawks have withstood this year now culminate in tonight’s game against the Cats, with a Grand Final at stake.

“We’ve developed a trust, a really strong belief amongst the group,” Beveridge said.

“We’ve won some close games, we’ve won every game interstate, we’ve got through a lot of challenges throughout the course of the year and that going into this prelim, there is a trust amongst the players.”

Beveridge concedes though, the trust within one another is superseded by the trust and belief in one’s self.

“Most of all though, they need to trust themselves to do what they did a few weeks ago and the week before that in Sydney because that's the right recipe for success,” he said.

“The rapport amongst them and the belief and cohesion within the team is really strong.”

It is that belief and trust in one another that helps Hawthorn live its mantra of knowing your role and playing it to the best of your ability.

At Hawthorn, there is no one reliance on any individual to perform each week, whether it be a six-goal haul or 40 touches in the midfield.

At Hawthorn, it’s about 22 players doing their bit.

“It helps because of the belief in our methods and we know that the individuals, if they just apply themselves to what’s expected of them in their role in the team and you put all the jigsaw pieces together, in the end it’s going to be a pretty strong picture at the end of it,” Beveridge said.

“If we didn’t have so much belief in what we were doing then it becomes a bit of a different story where we need certain individuals to play out of their skin to win the game, we don’t need that.

“A strong, consistent, even effort from everyone will give us a really good chance.”