ALASTAIR Clarkson believes Saturday afternoon's win over Collingwood shows Hawthorn is capable of beating any opponent in this year's finals series.

Clarkson said the Hawks' stirring three-point victory over a Pies side that had won nine games in a row would give them a lot of confidence ahead of next week.

"[Today's win] gives us enormous belief that we can beat anyone in the competition if we play with the type of endeavour that we had today," he said.

"It was a really fiercely contested game from go to whoa.

"Collingwood is such a powerful side, they're just so strong and resilient and we admire the way they go about their footy.

"That's why it was such a pleasing win for us."

The result means Hawthorn still holds a slim chance of hosting a home elimination final next week.

The schedule will be confirmed after Saturday night's match between the Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions.

A win to the Swans will see Hawthorn slip from sixth to seventh place on the AFL ladder and travel to Subiaco Oval to take on Fremantle. Should the Swans lose, they will meet the Hawks in a final in Melbourne.

"Strangely enough, as exciting as the win is it could be immaterial. We might win today and still finish in seventh position," Clarkson said.

"But we've watched from afar and noticed how Collingwood have progressed as a club and been very impressed with how they've gone about things, and to get a win on the eve of the finals is really good for us."

The match offered a great preview of finals football with its intensity and pressure, with a particularly gutsy display from the Hawks.

Trailing by 19 points late in the last quarter, the Hawks used sheer grunt and the influence of star forward Lance Franklin (six goals) to pull themselves over the line.

"To forge a win against a quality side like that, having been three or four goals behind in the latter part of the game was really pleasing for our group," Clarkson said.

"When Collingwood had the momentum and had the run of play Buddy would keep us in the contest.

"We were obviously pleased with his performance. He is a very important player to our structure and when he plays well our side usually plays well too."

Of further encouragement to Clarkson was that the win came without vice-captain Luke Hodge.

Hodge hurt his knee in last round's big win over Fremantle, but an upbeat Clarkson confirmed the midfielder would be a certain starter next week.

"We might not be able to squeeze Hodgey in," he said.