We get the feeling the ladder predictor has had brown and gold fingerprints all over it this week.
Hawks fans would have undoubtedly, and understandably, clambered over the predictor, working out how their side makes an 11th finals appearance from 13 seasons.
Well, we’re here to make things simple for you (whilst also unashamedly confessing to spending hours on the predictor recently) …
There are 18 games left in the 2019 home and away season and five teams still in the hunt to secure the final two spots in the top eight.
Of those 18, nine games matter to the Hawks’ chances.
Two of those are the side’s meetings with Gold Coast and West Coast – two games that are non-negotiable wins if the Hawks are any hope.
That’s the first challenge.
Hawthorn joins Essendon (currently seventh), Port Adelaide (eighth), Adelaide (ninth) and the Western Bulldogs as the teams jostling for a piece of September action.
If two of those sides are able to win both of their last two games, then the Hawks’ campaign ends at Round 23.
That’s the next hurdle – and arguably a trickier one given its completely out of the Hawks’ control.
Port Adelaide looms as the most likely to pull off a winning final fortnight, taking on the 14th-placed North Melbourne this weekend before hosting Fremantle in Round 23.
Given their superior percentage to the Hawks, the Power and the Crows would likely only need to win one more game to ensure they finish above the Hawks.
In summary, the Hawks must win their last two games and cross their fingers these four rivals are unable to match that feat.
The odds are stacked against them but the fat lady hasn’t sung just yet.
