Up to 10,000 fans flocked to Hawthorn's training session at Waverley Park this morning to cheer on their AFL heroes before Saturday's grand final against reigning premiers Geelong.

Hawthorn veteran Shane Crawford was a popular target for autograph hunters, while stars Lance Franklin, Luke Hodge and Trent Croad also commanded attention.

Croad, who injured his foot in the qualifying final win against the Bulldogs three weeks ago, did not participate in full training and was restricted to light handball and kicking skills near the sidelines.

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Photos: Fans flock to Waverley
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Hawthorn fans have embraced the club's return to grand final week with renewed vigour.

When the Hawks last won the flag 17 years ago, Waverley was still an AFL playing venue and Angry Anderson memorably provided the half-time entertainment for the grand final.

"Do you know they used to play footy here a long time ago?" one Hawks-supporting father told his young daughter today.

Hawthorn has undergone a massive transformation since it almost merged with Melbourne in 1996.

They have successfully tapped into a large supporter base in the south-eastern suburbs, increasing their membership to almost 40,000 supporters to become one of the Victorian 'super' clubs.

However just to remind the club's fans - including the new generation of supporters - about their rich and successful history in finals, a bronze statue of club coaching legend John Kennedy senior is overlooking the training ground.

His most memorable and famous quote: "Don't think, just do".

Hawthorn fans at Waverley this morning are hoping their players follow that simple adage against the seemingly invincible Cats on Saturday afternoon.

Assistant coach Damien Hardwick said the match committee would be meeting this afternoon to finalise the team.

While much speculation this week has been about which Geelong player would be dropped for Paul Chapman, the Hawks have their own selection quandaries and could make as many as two changes to the team, which defeated St Kilda in the semi-final.

Hardwick said Simon Taylor, Tom Murphy and Tim Clarke were all in with a chance to play on Saturday.