Hawthorn players well understand the reasons for the animosity with arch foes Essendon, Hawks coach Sam Mitchell says.
“If I don’t think that they understand the history, then maybe I’ll do a little bit of a lesson,” Mitchell told reporters on Wednesday.
“But I think most of our guys are pretty well educated on it.”
Hawthorn meet Essendon on Friday night at the MCG in the latest instalment of a bitter rivalry that flared in the 1980s and has flickered ever since.
And while the pragmatist in Mitchell stressed the fixture was just another match worth four premiership points, the realist in the fourth-year coach acknowledged the stakes.
“They’re all worth four points, aren’t they,” he said.
“But I think the challenge of playing in big games and big pressure, it is what you make it.
“And our group has been really strong and really consistent with we want to be in big games, we want to be in big moments.
“And we’re playing against Essendon, who are a huge club with a fantastic history.
“And the history between the two clubs is obviously significant, so a lot of Hawks fans, a lot of Bombers fans perhaps aren’t in love with each other too much.”
While Essendon’s opening-round game on the Gold Coast was postponed due to cyclonic weather, the Hawks earnt rave reviews for their stylish 20-point away victory against Sydney in their season opener.
“It’s amazing when there’s only two games how much gets spoken about your game,” Mitchell said.
“But for us, we know that was just one small step in a direction that we want to take.
“And we have had enough evidence that we can improve when we work hard, and it’s a big challenge this week … we know that we’re going to have to play our best.”
And while the Bombers have not won a final since 2004, Mitchell remained wary.
“They (Essendon) are a good side … they had some games they would have been disappointed with last year,” he said.
“But when you look at their form line across the whole year and you look at their best, they were pretty potent and they beat some really good sides when they were in good form.
“They also lost a couple of games that perhaps they should have won, so I don’t think Essendon are going to be a side that anyone is going to take lightly this year.”