Hawthorn ‘can beat anyone’ in finals race

HAWTHORN vice- captain Liam Shiels says the Hawks can beat anyone in September.

Shiels said the Hawks — entering the finals on a sixgame winning run — were loaded with confidence as they plot to end the Tigers’ 21-game winning streak at the MCG.

He said the Hawks would study their Round-3 loss to Richmond in preparation for the qualifying final.

“I’ve been saying all year that our best footy can match it with anyone,” Shiels said.

“Over the last month and a bit, we’ve been able to perform a lot more consistently quarter to quarter than at the start of the year. Obviously Richmond are the best side in the competition at the minute. We played them early on in the year and they gave us a touch-up, so we might go back to that tape and look where they got us and reassess from there.”

Veterans Shaun Burgoyne and Jarryd Roughead have earnt a golden shot at becoming the most decorated players of the modern era with the Hawks booking their seventh top-four finish in eight seasons. Burgoyne, 35, and Roughead, 31, are chasing a fifth premiership — a feat achieved by just 21 players in VFL-AFL history.

Grant Birchall, 30, is also hunting a fifth flag, though knee problems have sidelined him since Round 15 last year.

“Halfway through the year [a premiership] looked pretty far away,” Shiels said.

“But we keep pushing for consistency quarter to quarter and, as I’ve said a couple of times in this interview, our best footy can match anyone in the competition.”