ONE OF the great fallacies of modern football is that you've got to lose a grand final before you can win one. It should be struck from the register of colloquial footballisms.

After all, in the last decade only West Coast, winners in 2006 after losing in 2005, have followed that "try-before-you-buy" path to premiership glory. And in that time it didn't matter to Adelaide in '98, North in '99, Essendon in 2000, Brisbane in 2001-02-03, Port in '04, Sydney in '05 or Geelong in '07 that they hadn't suffered the ignominy of a grand final loss before tasting success.

It's a lot of garbage. But the emotional challenge that comes with grand final week is not garbage. It's a serious part of the build-up which would have been more difficult this week for Hawthorn players who have not been through it.

I remember before the Lions' first grand final in 2001 asking Martin Pike, a former premiership player at North Melbourne, what it was like to win a grand final.

I was a little surprised when he said he couldn't really describe it. That he couldn't do it justice. I didn't get it at the time, but I got it after the Lions beat Essendon a few days later.

Standing on the dais, premiership medallion around my neck, sharing the moment with 21 of your best mates, it is the ultimate football experience.

Grand final week is so intoxicating that it can overwhelm you if you're not properly prepared. It's something that every player dreams of, but there is no rule book that determines how you behave or feel when you get to the big stage.

So, as much as anything, the seven days leading up to the grand final are about mental preparation. It's about putting all the hype aside and remembering it is just another game of football, albeit with consequences.

It's a logistic battle. The frenzied demand for tickets, untold calls from well-wishers, elevated media focus, huge crowds at training. You can waste energy with these and other distractions if you're not mindful of the real objective. There's no escaping all this, so it's imperative you enjoy it, embrace it and don't let it affect you.

If you've conquered this it counts for nothing when they bounce the ball at 2.30pm tomorrow. The flag will be determined by actions in the 2½ hours that follow. It's one thing to participate in a grand final, and to be satisfied to be there. It's another thing to compete.

Geelong players will have a clear-cut purpose. They will compete. Fiercely and ruthlessly. Anything less than victory will be a failure.

But is it any different for Hawthorn? Not at all.

While it might be said the Hawks are ahead of schedule in a redevelopment plan launched after they finished 15th in 2004, there will be the same emptiness if they lose.

Why? Because there is no guarantee they will ever get another crack at it. Robert Harvey waited 10 years to play in a grand final in 1997 and never got another chance.

If you go into a grand final with any presumptions, you will be burnt. Badly. Alastair Clarkson will have worked overtime to ensure this doesn't happen tomorrow.

He'll then move on to other things that are even more difficult to control. Like his checklist of things they must do well if they are to de-throne the champions.

They must match the Cats for contested ball. They must work hard to contain the run out of the Geelong defence. This means restricting Tom Harley, Darren Milburn and others, who fade off their direct opponents.

They must chase hard from behind to break the Cats' run through the corridor.

They must push back in numbers from the midfield to help out in defence. And Luke Hodge must have a belter of a game across half back.

Key match-ups? Sam Mitchell needs to conquer the tag of Cameron Ling. And Chance Bateman needs to break even with Gary Ablett.

And they need to find a match-up for Steve Johnson. Clarkson may throw Campbell Brown onto the 2007 Norm Smith medallist. It would leave the Hawks deficient in defensive pressure in the forward line, where Brown has been so good recently, but he would relish the challenge and the chance to get under the skin of the enigmatic Johnson.

Also, they've got to find a way to combat Brad Ottens when he pushes forward without opening up other scoring options for the Cats. I can't see a match-up for the big man when he goes forward and he is my tip for the Norm Smith Medal.

I'm excited about this replay of the epic 1989 grand final, and for the first time in several months, I'm expecting a real contest. The Hawks have timed their run nicely.

But I can't see them being able to cover all the threats. The Cats have too much class and depth. They are an awesome combination. Geelong by five goals.