HAWTHORN half-forward Brendan Whitecross says nothing less than a four-quarter effort will be good enough against Collingwood on Friday night.

Despite controlling much of last week's 36-point semi-final win over the Sydney Swans, the Hawks conceded four straight goals in the third quarter to allow the visitors back into the match.

Seven days earlier, bursts by Geelong of five goals to start the second quarter and four goals late in the third ruled out hopes of a Hawthorn win.

Whitecross is determined that there'll be no such lapses against the Magpies.

"The biggest test for this week, in a preliminary final and against a team like Collingwood, is that we need to play to our structures for four quarters," the 21-year-old told hawthornfc.com.au in the lead-up to the preliminary final.

"We can't have patches here and there where we switch off.

"[If Collingwood gets momentum] it's just a matter of not losing our heads, of keeping our cool, and just going back to playing our structures."

Whitecross will play his 50th game on Friday night, off the back of an impressive 20-touch, five-tackle performance against the Swans.

His chase-down of 300-game star Adam Goodes early in the final term was a feature in the victory.

The Queenslander has become a regular in Hawthorn's senior line-up during 2011, playing all 19 matches since round seven and booting 16 goals.

"My first couple of seasons I was just trying to find my way in the AFL system and in the Hawthorn side, but the more games I've got under my belt, the more confidence I've got," Whitecross said.

"Being able to play so many consecutive games has really helped, and makes me feel like I belong at the level."

The 2007 second round draftee said landing at a successful club had made his path easier.

Established Hawks stars, in particular hard-running wingman Chance Bateman, provided a clear example of what was required.

"You learn what works for you and what doesn't just by watching the senior players around you, so it helps a lot," Whitecross said.

"One player that I admire in terms of the way he goes about training and his aerobic capacity is Chance Bateman.

"I feel like I've got pretty similar attributes to Chance, so the first couple of years I really watched the way he went about it and took it all in."

Whitecross has enjoyed the step-up from the regular season to finals football, and knows it will raise another notch this week against the minor premiers.

"There's definitely a huge step-up in intensity, because what you've played for all year is on the line," he said.

"No-one wants to lose the opportunity to make it to the Grand Final.

"I dare say running out on Friday night there'll be a little bit of nerves, but we know what we've got to do and we know the roles that we've got to play, so it's just a matter of doing that to the best of our ability."

Mark Macgugan writes for hawthornfc.com.au and covers Hawks news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @mmacgugan