Hawthorn’s senior coach, Alistair Clarkson, is hoping, and has been hoping since their string of loses from 2009, that his side can outrun the Cats this Saturday night.

Clarkson says he and his team are both looking forward to the contest, which will inevitably be a tight and enthralling game for the players, coaches as well as the fans.  

“They’ve been a great contest, if we had been beaten by five or ten goals on each of these 10 occasions and not had ourselves in winning positions, then we would have cause for concern, but they’ve been great contests,” Clarkson said.

Clarkson admits that Geelong Cats have been their toughest competition for a very long time.

He says the Hawks respect their class, enjoy the challenge and have done really well to compete, however they’re ready to step it up a notch to end the infamous streak.

“We’ve been playing against a side that many arguably say is possibly one of the best sides that have played the game… so to be so competitive in that instants is a pat on our back in some sense, but we’re very mindful that we’re ready to chalk one up very soon.”

Clarkson understands the thrill of these big games and how much the players’ thrive on tough contests that have the potential to go either way, especially when they’re on such a big stage as the MCG.

“Players love to play in these contests, there’s going to be 80 thousand people there probably,” Clarkson said.

“They’re (the Cats) a great opponent that we respect enormously and they respect us for our capabilities, as well as the footy community… That makes it a great contest that the players love to be involved in, the coaches love to be involved in and certainly the wider community love to witness these type of contests.”

Although Clarkson concedes that whatever happens won’t effect either side, considering their positions on the table so far.