The Hawks are third on percentage from The Rock-Yerong Creek (who play bottom-placed Temora).

The Bushpigs are only a win away in fifth but need to win to be sure of staying there heading into the general bye. And after wins against teams below them, they're desperate for a top-four scalp.

Hard said the Hawks don't want to slip up against the only team they haven't played yet, in what shapes as an important fixture.

"We certainly do, it's definitely a big game. Their form stacks up pretty well and the games they have lost, they've been in those games for a long time," Hard said.

"It's definitely a danger game for us, that's for sure."

EWK are keen to string together three straight wins for the second time this year and are aware the Bushpigs can get on a roll out of the middle through Lachy Moore and ruckman Andrew Dickins in particular.

"Dicko is obviously a good player and has been rucking really well," Hard said.

"Lachy Moore's been playing some really good footy too. He's super fit and covers the ground really well. So we're going to have to play well."

The Hawks had a host of injuries in their last loss, to Marrar in round six.

However, they enjoyed the luxury of an unchanged side in wins against Barellan and the Northern Jets since.

Caleb Wild (knee) is a chance of coming in this week but Tim Smith (ankle) is doubtful, Ben Absolum and Jarrad Boumann (hamstrings) are likely to be a couple of weeks away, and Jarrod Turner (collarbone) and Dan McCarthy (knee reconstruction) beyond that.

Nick Hull's comeback has helped, up forward and relieving Kyle North-Flanagan, who's been doing a mountain of work in the ruck since his own return from injury (against Marrar) coincided with Wild going down.

"The boys will have their work cut for them (against Dickins). But they enjoy a challenge," Hard said.

The Hawks have had their heartache in front of goal, kicking 35 behinds in their last two wins.

Although they've only dropped one of their last six games, Hard would like to see some improvement ahead.

He said the chance to roll into the second half of the season inside the top three is important.

"It would be good. We've had a few injuries and things have taken a little while to get where we wanted to be," Hard said.

"We think we'll improve as the year goes on so if we can get ourselves in the firing line, then we'll be pretty happy...

"It's still just consistency, in the way that we play and in all facets of the game - whether it's our skill level, our pressure, whether it's our concentration - it's being consistent in those fundamentals.

"If we can keep improving on those fundamentals, we'll keep improving. It's pretty simple."

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