CHANCE Bateman's dodgy ankle was one of the main storylines leading into Saturday night's preliminary final, but the Hawthorn midfielder showed no signs of discomfort during a typically hard-running performance.
"It's not too bad. I just rolled it on Tuesday, but I did all the right things with icing and getting down to the bay during the week, so it came up all right and I was lucky enough to get out there and play a role for the side," Bateman said following his 21-possession, one-goal effort in the 54-point win over St Kilda.
"Once we strapped it up it felt pretty good, and I was able to play as usual and move freely.
"We just wanted to play our natural style of footy tonight which is to get in first, win the stoppages and get the ball going our way, which is what we ended up doing."
Bateman was impressed by the even contribution put in across all 22 Hawks players, but also noted the different role played by Lance Franklin, who kicked just one goal, and the example set by Luke Hodge, who shook off a huge hit to run out the game.
"A lot of blokes sacrificed their roles tonight. Franklin moved up the ground which created a lot more opportunities for our other forwards to be able to play one-on-one, which was great," he said.
"He fed off and created a couple as well, so it was a great spread up forward. All the guys got some opportunities and kicked pretty well, which was a good effort.
"And Hodgey's an absolute inspiration to all the boys. He's one of the hardest, if not the hardest player at our club, and that's why he's so well respected amongst the group."
A tough assignment awaits the Hawks now with the all-conquering Cats ready to pounce in the season decider, but Bateman is confident he and his teammates can soak up Grand Final week and attack the match with enthusiasm.
"I think you do [take time to enjoy the build-up], you don't want to be too defensive when it comes to that sort of stuff and not allow yourself to get a little bit mixed up in it. You want to enjoy it while remaining focused on the job at hand as well," he said.
"They've been the best side in the competition for the last 18 to 24 months. We'll go through all that during the week, we'll set out a game plan, so we'll go out there and hopefully be able to execute it.
"I don't think anyone reads too much into [being the underdogs]. You go into a game with a plan, and if you execute it well, you usually win. If you don't, you go away with a loss – it'll be no different this week."
