The Tigers trailed Hawthorn by 40 points at half-time at the University of Tasmania Stadium in their final JLT hitout, but came back to win 14.11 (95) to 13.9 (87).

Jack Riewoldt had just one possession in the first half, and a host of big names were struggling to get into the game.

Live blog: Hawks take on Tigers at UTAS Stadium

The Hawks looked comfortable and deserved their lead, with Jaeger O'Meara dominating, Jarryd Roughead dangerous in front of goal and their defensive structure restricting the Tigers.

But it took less than two minutes in the third quarter for Riewoldt to enter the game with a commanding pack mark and goal.

From there, it was the Tigers of old.

But Hardwick could not shake the disappointing second quarter where they were kept goalless.

"The second quarter was probably the poorest quarter we'd played since the preliminary final to be fair," he said.

"The players readjusted a couple of things, spoke about a couple of things at half-time."

Trent Cotchin got on top in the midfield and Dustin Martin - their only real standout in the first half - was able to take a backseat as his teammates took control all over the ground.

Maverick Weller and Jack Higgins also started to find space in front of goal and helped to breach the margin.

Riewoldt benefitted from the contentious new 50 metre rule as Hawks defender James Frawley remained too close after giving away an initial 50 metre penalty. Riewoldt's mark on the wing ended with him banging it through from the goal square - a rule Hardwick has already spoken out against.

Hawthorn were unable to cope with the Tigers in the last quarter and Cotchin kicked two in a row, including from a breakaway through the centre of the ground.

The Tigers rested most of their big names for their first JLT match in Morton Bay in Queensland where players encountered sweltering conditions.

It could have accounted for the sloppy first-half showing.

Hardwick said they were pleased with the football they produced in the second half and believed the side was in a better position than 12 months ago when they were "too far ahead".

"We're playing some reasonable football without being over the top," he said.

"It'll make it tough for selections for round one."

For the Hawks, Roughead's five goals - despite a miss from 10 metres out directly in front - would have pleased coach Alastair Clarkson, along with the performance of O'Meara who was clearly best on ground to half-time.

Youngsters Mitch Lewis and Jack Scrimshaw were also impressive.