The Hawks dropped out of the top three when beaten by 67 points by the Bombers in round 16. But losing, and the ladder, weren't as alarming as the manner in which they were beaten.

EWK conceded 27 scoring shots that day, including eight goals in the last quarter, in front of a home crowd boosted by the premierships reunion of 1979 when the Hawks won all three grades.

Now, four weeks later, the club has all three grades through to the 2019 grand final and their senior side has delivered on the expectation they set early.

"Obviously Marrar got hold of us and we got together and said, 'Where do we want this season to take us?' Hard said.

"We put on a few extra sessions, the boys all bought in, and it's the result of us just doing a bit extra."

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The Hawks haven't lost since, ending North Wagga's six-game winning streak on Saturday, a week after they stopped Marrar after nine straight wins.

An injury curse hurt in the middle of the year and it took time to get a full list back and then find a rhythm.

A lower leg injury to veteran forward Chris Jackson on Saturday is their main concern looking ahead to the grand final, but Myles Carroll (shoulder) will be ready to return.

"(Jackson) is a bit sore. We'll give him a couple of weeks and see how he pans out from there," Hard said.

"We'll lick our wounds this week and get ourselves ready. We've got Myles and Daniel Hitchens available. They'll be 100 per cent and pushing hard for selection.

"It's that time of year and we've got three grades in. There's going to be some tough calls made and unfortunately that's footy. But we'll wait to see who comes through next week and we'll prepare for whoever after that."

Until three weeks ago, the Hawks had won just one game out of five against the other top-four teams, and that was a victory snatched after the siren at North Wagga.

Now, they go into the grand final comfortable in the knowledge they've knocked off all three contenders in a row and confident they can bring pressure when it's needed.

"(North Wagga and Marrar) got the jump on us early and we just had to stay composed," Hard said.

"Finals footy is not won in five minutes. It's a grind. It's won over four quarters and our boys are mentally strong when it comes to that now that they've had a few of them in a row.

"Pressure is something we really pride ourselves on. To the boys' credit, they're all doing it and I'm happy they've all bought in and they're all doing it for each other."

The 1979 premiership winners are pleased to see it too.

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