James Worpel attributes "confronting" internal discussions after a winless opening five rounds as the spark that turned Hawthorn's season around.
The Hawks are chasing an unlikely finals berth after posting seven wins from their past eight games - and 10 from 13 - the last by putting reigning premiers Collingwood to the sword.
The hot streak has lifted Sam Mitchell's side to within sight of the top eight, but they face another difficult assignment against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
An in-form engine room will be key to the Hawks' chances, with hard-nut Worpel lining up alongside Will Day, Jai Newcombe and Connor Nash at the feet of improved ruckman Lloyd Meek.
The midfield group has come a long way since a shellacking from Gold Coast in round five, which left Hawthorn second-from-bottom and their finals chances almost shot.
"I'm sure most of the boys would be pretty honest and say they didn't start the year well," Worpel told AAP.
"Our midfield was getting a rocket ... but we addressed a few things.
"We weren't tough enough and weren't doing the basics well enough.
"We got to work, really. We got to work at training and held each other to high standards.
"Now we want to be controlling those standards and keep performing."
At the heart of the mid-April discussions was "super honest" third-year coach Sam Mitchell, who isn't afraid to let players know what he thinks.
"Sometimes it's confronting but he just wants the best out of us and wants us to win," Worpel said.
Mitchell built up last week's showdown with Collingwood as an "elimination final" in July, and his Hawks stepped up in a big way.
With ground still to make up on the top eight, they'll face more cut-throat contests like that on the run towards September.
"It was one of the biggest games most of us have played in," Worpel said of the Magpies clash.
"We really embraced it and took it head on and it was good to see most of the boys play well.
"But it's hard every week and we've got to win every week."
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks this week declared he isn't quite ready to give up on the Crows' finals hopes, despite conceding they're just a "0.6 per cent" chance of sneaking in.
The Crows (7-10-1) have won three of their four games since the bye, but would have to win their remaining five fixtures and hope other results fall their way.
"It's still possible so you never want to give up on that," Nicks said.
"We just believe in the footy gods and keep doing what we're doing.
"We're going to have to beat some very good sides and it starts this week with Hawthorn."
Adelaide's task against the Hawks got even harder when they lost captain Jordan Dawson (concussion) and key defenders Nick Murray (knee) and Jordon Butts (foot) to injuries.
Veteran forward Taylor Walker headlined the inclusions, along with James Borlase and Chayce Jones, while the Hawks named an unchanged team.
