The Hawks received a major reality check last week when they suffered a 67-point loss to the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba, snapping a four-match winning run.
The result has left Hawthorn (14-6-1) needing a win against the Magpies on Saturday night in order to shore up a top-four berth.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell didn't hold back when assessing where his team went wrong against the Lions.
"I think the narrative from the public has been pretty much spot on - out toughed and outworked," Mitchell said.
"We're certainly not at a stage where we're good enough to compete against teams as good as Brisbane without bringing those two things.
"They were a bit tougher a bit more often than we were.
"Most of our under-10 coaches said, 'be tough, go when it's your turn', all those types of things.
"And if you don't do the basics of the game well enough, you're not going to compete against the best sides and we found that out pretty bluntly last week."
Mitchell said it's important for his team to sharpen their axe ahead of finals.
Collingwood (12-8-1) represents a good test, with the Magpies bolstered by the return of Jordan De Goey and Scott Pendlebury.
Hawthorn will unveil mid-season draftee Max Beattie, while Bailey Macdonald returns after being managed last week.
Curbing the influence of Nick Daicos looms as the Hawks' biggest challenge.
The star Pie racked up 39 disposals, 10 clearances and a goal to lead injury-hit Collingwood to victory against West Coast last week.
Mitchell said it was important finding a balance in plans to shut down Daicos.
"I mean there's stopping him and winning the game, and sometimes one leads to the other, but sometimes one costs you the other," Mitchell said.
"So we need to manage both of those things."
The Magpies, who have already secured a wildcard spot as a minimum, will have plenty of emotion to finish the year strongly after veteran Steele Sidebottom announced his plans to retire at the end of the season.
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