CAN DEES BE HAWKS OF ’08?

ELIMINATION FINAL

played in that 2008 premiership for Hawthorn — said age and experience played only a small part and his side was ready to dispel those concerns against Geelong in its elimination final on Friday night.

“I suppose the only similarity I can draw on is the inexperience of the playing group and that didn’t hold us back in 2008 and I don’t see why it should hold us back this time of the year,” Lewis said.

“We went into the break with some really good form. We’ve played Geelong twice this year and we’ve come up short but learnt along the way.

“I think experience is good in finals. I don’t think it’s a necessity because at the end of the day we’ve played 23 rounds to get ourselves in a really good position like we have and nothing for me really changes. The intensity goes up but that’s the way we’ve played our last two games so if we can follow on from that I think we’ll be in a really good position.”

The Demons enter their first finals campaign since 2006 on the back of wins over top-eight sides Greater Western Sydney and West Coast.

Lewis said that form showed the young Demons group was ready for the challenge, and the expected return of co-captain Jack Viney from a foot injury would prove a further “jolt of confidence”.

“If he plays, and he plays around the ball, you know exactly what you’re going to get,” Lewis said of Viney, who has been sidelined since Round 16.

“Jack hasn’t played a lot of football this year but he certainly comes in and he’s got that experience as an in-andunder player and that’s what finals is sort of built around so to have him in, if he comes in, would be a real jolt of confidence.”