Speaking ahead of his fifth grand final, and fourth in succession, Tasmanian running defender Grant Birchall said his side had learnt plenty from their 32-point loss in Perth on the opening night of the finals series  ahead of ending  the competition’s post-season engagements against the same opponent and were aiming to complete a premiership three-peat.

That night  the Eagles were able to take the victory by pressuring the Hawks and therefore limiting their outside run, and restricting their uncontested –  two trademarks of their game.

Birchall himself was one the key Hawks down that night, in a quiet 19-disposal outing.

‘‘That is obviously their strength in the middle of the ground with their pressure, and the way they set up behind the ball is really good, and that is one of the reasons why they have had such a great year,’’ the 27-year-old said.

‘‘We were really disappointed as a group in that first week of the finals. We thought our effort was there but the little things behind the ball that we pride ourselves on wasn’t at its best.

‘‘That is something we will focus on this week, getting first use of the ball and playing in our forward half.

‘‘Playing at the MCG, that’s where we play our best footy, so hopefully that can be an advantage for us, but we did learn a few lessons against West Coast, as they out-pressured us, were smarter with the ball in hand and made the most of their opportunities when going forward.

‘‘We’ll be ready to go this week.’’

The dashing defender from Devonport said he and his back-line comrades were ready for the challenge that the Eagles’ potent front-half presented.

The match between the third and second-ranked teams on the ladder is between the first (Hawthorn with 2745 points from 25 matches) and second (West Coast with 2506 from 24 matches) placed teams when it comes to scoring.

‘‘(Josh) Kennedy in particular has had a fantastic season, so we will have to try to quell his influence, but there are other players like (Jamie) Cripps and (Mark) LeCras who get under the guard.

‘‘We’ve been really good as a defensive group all year, and I’m really looking forward to the challenge.’’