HAWTHORN vice-captain Luke Hodge believes the Hawks' season will continue to gather momentum as the race to September heats up in the coming weeks.

After managing just one win in the first seven rounds, the side's phoenix-like rise from the ashes has been one of the story lines of the season.  

While Hodge says there is still much work to be done, he sounds an ominous warning to opposition teams. 

"I think we have a side that if we play the football that we know we're capable of, we can challenge any side in the AFL," he says.

"But we've just got to put our heads down and play some good consistent footy.

"The last seven or eight weeks have been pleasing because we have managed to put together a few wins, but I still believe we've got a lot of improvement to go."

Hawthorn's resurgence has sparked talk of the possibility of a history-making flag from outside the top four, but Hodge isn't about to dip his toe in that pond - even after pushing premiership favourite Geelong to within two points at the weekend.

"Our first target is to win enough games to make the eight," he says.

"We're still just holding on at the moment and we don't have the easiest draw in the run home. We've got to play some good footy to make the eight to start with.

"If we get there we'll reset our sights then."

Hodge's excellent form playing in varying roles was one of the few constants for the battling Hawks early and his output hasn't waned as the fortunes of the team have turned.

He leads the AFL Coaches Association award voting heading into round 16 and is second favourite for the Brownlow Medal behind Cat maestro Gary Ablett.
 
"The thing about playing for Clarko is that he does always challenge you," Hodge says of his season to date.

"I love to play in the midfield, but if I have to play a role down back or push forward then I'm more than happy to do it. I actually find it refreshing as well to do something a bit different every few weeks or so.

"Going back and forth always makes me think about my game which is good for your footy."

A long injury list and a run of losses that threatened to derail the Hawks' season hasn’t been the only challenge the team has overcome this year.

A media-driven debate over the club's on-field leadership sought to pit Hodge's credentials against those of skipper Sam Mitchell. While such a debate could have had the potential to be a destabilising factor, the vice-captain declared it had been a non-issue inside the club.

"We understand that people in the media have to make comments on certain things or have strong opinions, but me and Sammy work well together," he says.

"We're not too worried about what people on the outside say. We know how we work best as a group.

"We come from totally different backgrounds, with me being a country boy and him being from the city, but I reckon that helps our leadership style. We complement each other fairly well. I'm always asking his opinion and he's always asking mine - it's good.

"Sammy's always got the final say on all the decisions that we make though. He's helped me heaps with my leadership over the last two or three years.

"To be honest I'm just rapt to be the vice-captain to Sammy. If anything changed in the future, well, every player would love to be the captain of their club, but I'm fully in support of Sammy, who is doing a fantastic job. I don't think there needs to be any change."

While the leadership pairing has continued to evolve over the past three seasons, Hodge feels the addition of former Port Adelaide onballer Shaun Burgoyne has provided a huge boost in terms of on-field direction.

"He's another mature head that we've brought into the midfield," he says of the onballer who has overcome knee, jaw and hamstring injuries to become a key factor in the Hawks' resurgence.

"I think the key thing though is just his footy smarts. He knows where the ball is going, he reads the play very well, and he's been an excellent leader.

"It's good to have him that mix now because he brings a mix of in-and-under style football and his outside game is superb as well. He's been a real bonus for us."