SHAUN Burgoyne says Hawthorn's senior players can learn from Geelong when it comes to performing in close games.

The Hawks lost to the Cats by two points on Easter Monday, their eighth straight defeat to the 2011 premiers.

Burgoyne paid tribute to the efforts of Geelong stars Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood in helping their team overcome a three goal deficit at the last break.

"They seem to just find an extra leg in those tight games," Burgoyne said on Tuesday.

"They have great self belief, and that's something that we can draw from, definitely.

"Guys like [Selwood] and Bartel, they've made their reputations on playing in big games.

"We have those guys here as well, and it's just a matter of putting it together, I think.

"When we do we'll be a pretty strong team."

Coach Alastair Clarkson gave the Hawks a 'spray' after the match, which Burgoyne said was deserved given they kicked five behinds without a goal in the last quarter.

"He (Clarkson) can give a good bake when he has to, but we earned it," the 29-year-old said.

"He was pretty disappointed about the missed opportunities we had.

"When you play against the top teams like Geelong and Collingwood, you've got to take those opportunities. If you don't, you leave the door open and they'll come in and have the victory like they did.

"He was pretty angry, and so were we, because some of the mistakes we made were pretty easy mistakes, and they capitalised."

Burgoyne will play his 200th AFL match against Adelaide on Sunday, joining his older brother Peter in passing the milestone.

"To play 200 games means I've played for 10 years, and I've been pretty happy with that," he said.

"My family's fairly proud of myself and my brother, both being able to get to 200 games.

"It'll be pretty exciting to have my boys there on the weekend and enjoy the experience with them."

Much of the attention ahead of the clash with the in-form Crows will be on how Hawthorn can nullify big forwards Kurt Tippett and Taylor Walker, after Geelong's Tom Hawkins and James Podsiadly starred on Monday.

"We need to help our backs out with the way the ball comes in, and we need to help with third and fourth men into the contest as well," Burgoyne said.

"Tippett's capable of kicking a bag and so is Walker, so it's a big challenge not only for the guys that play on them, but the defensive six."

Shaun Burgoyne is a $354,700 defender/midfielder in Toyota AFL Dream Team. Register your team here.

Mark Macgugan covers Hawks news for AFL.com.au and hawthornfc.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_MarkM.