Jarryd Roughead will put his enduring friendship with Lance Franklin on hold during next weekend's grand final.
Franklin was part of Hawthorn's premiership team last year, in what was his final match for the club before his move to Sydney. Roughead, drafted alongside Franklin in 2004, said he had not contemplated the scenario that the Hawks would be facing their former spearhead in the biggest match of the year.
"I never thought it would happen, but it's probably been a story for you guys all year to have a bit of fun with ... him going to Sydney and us being able to do what we've done," Roughead said on Sunday.
"We're still going to be mates, but I suppose for two or three hours next week we probably won't be mates."
Franklin was influential in the two matches he played against Hawthorn earlier in the year but not as much as he should have been, kicking five goals and 12 behinds. Roughead, whose six-goal haul was pivotal in the Hawks' preliminary final victory over Port Adelaide, said they would not obsess over the potential impact of Franklin for the Swans.
"We know, because he played with us here, he's able to get that many shots at goal ... so I dare say the defence will look at him closely this week," he said. "The boys have been good on him before. They've played on him enough out here [at Waverley Park in training] so we'll know what he does."
Roughead warned that focusing too much on Franklin would create an opportunity for fellow forwards Kurt Tippett, Adam Goodes and - fitness pending - Sam Reid to thrive in the grand final.
"The blokes that play on him will know a few [of his] tricks, but if they put all their effort into one bloke then Tippett or Goodes or Reid will get off the leash," he said.
"We've got to be careful we don't put all our focus into him because Sydney have proven in the past couple of years they've been up there as one of the better sides in the comp. We've got to be looking at all 22, not just one."
Hawthorn full-back Brian Lake reckoned the potency of the Sydney forward line was comparable to Brisbane's during its premiership streak just over a decade ago, when it boasted Jonathan Brown, Alastair Lynch and Daniel Bradshaw.
"They were never easy, but probably not as dynamic as a 'Buddy' Franklin, and [did not] have the size of Kurt Tippett as well. He's a big lad," he said.
Lake could be a pivotal player for Hawthorn, given he missed both previous matches against the Swans this year - the first due to injury, the second due to suspension. While he reckoned he was more likely to play on "stay-at-home forward" Tippett than Franklin, he expressed confidence the Hawks, irrespective of who was assigned to each player, would curtail the Swans' scoring.
"We're pretty confident we've got the arsenal in the back-line to cover their talls, but also provide run, which is vital to the way we play ... we look at that as a big weapon for our side."
While Hawthorn has been favoured to win the past two grand finals - it beat Fremantle last year but was beaten by Sydney in 2012 - Lake expected it would be considered the underdog for Saturday's match.
"We think we're in a reasonably good position. We obviously had a tough game last night but we look at that like it's going to be a positive ... that we can still have composure under a lot of pressure and come out the other side," he said. "It's going to be enjoyable. Being the underdog, hopefully a bit more pressure goes on Sydney."
Lake reckoned the presence of Sydney and Hawthorn in the grand final would be popular, given the way both teams have performed across the year.
"You want your two best sides in," Lake said.
"In finals you've got to beat the best. We've beaten Geelong, we've beaten Port, now it's the team that's been the best side in the competition, and that's Sydney. If we want to hold the flag and premiership cup up in seven days' time we've got to beat the best."
Roughead expressed confidence midfielder Jordan Lewis would overcome the corked thigh that forced his substitution against Port to hold his place in the team to face the Swans.
"He looks all right to me. I doubt that you're going to have a bloke like him miss a granny because of a corkie," he said.
Cyril Rioli, Brad Sewell and Ben McEvoy are all considered possible inclusions for the match. Roughead said selection issues, and the prospect of players being squeezed out, would not be a distraction.
"We've been pretty good in that sense all year. We've got a saying around here: squads win premierships, not just the 22, even though that's what it is on the day," he said.
Given the Hawks have endured large tracts of the season without key players Rioli (hamstring), Sam Mitchell (hamstring) and Josh Gibson (pectoral), and even coach Alastair Clarkson mid-season due to illness, Roughead expressed pride that they had reached their third consecutive grand final.
"Not many clubs can say they've been through all this and come out the other end better for it," he said.
Roughead said he was pleased that emerging midfielder Will Langford is poised to play in his first grand final, after not being in selection contention for the club's past two appearances.
