HAWTHORN forward Michael Osborne says the Hawks will go on the attack when they meet Essendon at the MCG on Friday night.

Alastair Clarkson’s men have lost their past three matches against the Bombers, and suffered a disappointing 43-point defeat when the teams last met back in round six.

“Last time we played, no-one at the club was happy with our competitiveness, and our attitude probably wasn’t right going into that game,” Osborne admitted at Waverley Park on Monday.

After languishing in the bottom half of the ladder with a 1-6 record after round seven, Hawthorn has resurrected its season. The Hawks are now back in the top eight after winning their past five games, including a last-start eight-goal victory over Adelaide in Launceston on Saturday.

“We put in some poor performances at the start of the year, and we’ve addressed that,” Osborne said.

“We’ve tried to bring a more competitive edge to our game and improve our attitude, so I think we’ve done that over the last month. It’s been working well for us.”

The Bombers, meanwhile, have dropped to 10th on the ladder following their thrashing at the hands of Geelong at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

But in recent matches against Hawthorn, they’ve used their pace and attacking style to run the Hawks ragged.

“They’ve got some quick legs in their team and we’ve probably been caught on the back foot a bit coming up against them the last couple of times,” Osborne said.

“We’ll be wary of that, but we’ve changed our game a little bit and are putting a few things in place to try and combat that and be a bit more positive and attacking with our game.”

The Hawks are now just two wins outside the top four, but Osborne would not be drawn on whether the players believe they can climb that far up the table.

“We haven’t spoken about positions on the ladder,” he said.

“We are in the top eight and we need to stay there and be there in round 22.”

However, Osborne was keen to pay tribute to Hawthorn’s star recruit Shaun Burgoyne. The Hawks have won all their games since the former Port Adelaide midfielder made his debut in brown and gold back in round eight.

“It’s all him,” Osborne joked. “All the wins are from Shauny, so we’re glad to have him playing for us.

“He brings a lot of experience - he’s played a lot of football and obviously been part of a premiership side.

“He’s a good leader and has a lot of knowledge to provide to the other players.”