HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson has insisted the key to stopping in-form Saint Nick Riewoldt isn’t in a match up but by limiting his supply from midfield.
Riewoldt kicked six goals against the Hawks the last time the sides met in round 16 and booted five majors to help end Collingwood's season in the semi-final last weekend.
“He’s been in stellar form Nick,” Clarkson said.
“But it’s more about the pressure we can apply (in) the midfield.
"St Kilda are saying the same thing about the supply to (Jarryd) Roughead and (Lance) Franklin. If the midfield battle is won by St Kilda, then whoever plays on Riewoldt is going to have a tough day.
"Similarly, if we win the battle, then we’d expect that Roughead and Franklin will make a pretty sizeable contribution for us.”
Hawthorn haven't taken a backward step all season and Clarkson was adamant the players would not be changing their robust approach for Saturday night’s clash.
High profile Hawks with carry-over points from previous offences include skipper Sam Mitchell, 2008 All-Australian forward Lance Franklin, veteran midfielder Shane Crawford and Campbell Brown.
“We’ve got 30 guys to select from and it would be very unusual for all five guys with carry-over points to have indiscretions this week so we’ll pick the best possible side that we can do out of this game if we manage to progress," Clarkson said.
"But we can’t really care too much about next week until we get though this week. We’ll handle any tribunal or injury issues next week if we manage to progress.
"I’m sure the excitement of grand final week will overcome any disappointment we’ve got of losing a particular player through suspension or injury.”
After a strong performance in the qualifying final, young ruckman Brent Renouf has retained his place for Saturday night's grand final qualifier, with Simon Taylor missing out.
Cameron Stokes is the only change from the qualifying final victory – the 19-year-old missing out with a hamstring injury – and Xavier Ellis returns to the side in his place.
The Hawks' coach admitted it’s a tough time for players who don’t make the cut.
“It’s never easy when guys are missing out on opportunities like that," Clarkson said.
"It’s not the end of the road and it’s not as if they won’t be playing again.
"They could get an opportunity next week and certainly if they don’t get selected then it’s more than likely that, if they’ve been in the mix to play in finals one year, they’re still going to be at the club the next year.
"We’re pretty excited with the maturity of our group and the quality of the guys we’ve got playing for us. They handle disappointment pretty well and move on.”
Having secured a finals berth early in the season, Clarkson believes his charges have had adequate time to ready themselves for the pressure of September football.
“This year we had a long time to prepare for our first final and I reckon our guys (have) got their head around what’s required in finals.”
