Sam Mitchell insists Hawthorn's best is yet to come as the early AFL pacesetters brace for a serious litmus test against Greater Western Sydney.
The Hawks have made their hottest start to a season in more than a decade, surging into premiership favouritism with three straight wins.
But Mitchell isn't resting on his laurels ahead of a clash with the unbeaten Giants (2-0) in Launceston on Saturday night.
"Despite us winning, I wouldn't say they've been complete performances," Mitchell said of his side's impressive start to the campaign.
"There's still a fair bit of improvement in what we're doing.
"There's some aspects that are going well, which has enabled us to win, but there's definitely things that we're working on behind the scenes.
"I don't think the players are thinking we've got it all sorted now.
"There's plenty of parts of our game that need work and the players are pretty diligent in going about that."
Fine margins have split the Hawks and Giants in the past two seasons, with four games decided by an average margin of less than six points.
GWS have won three of those contests and Mitchell noted Adam Kingsley's midfield is capable of "pulling you apart" if the likes of Tom Green and Finn Callaghan are allowed to dictate terms.
"They're just so consistent with the way they go about it, they're really well drilled and have a lot of talent in their team," Mitchell said.
"The system they play is pretty effective.
"We've got some challenges in front of us and we know that the Giants are one of the best sides in it."
Hawthorn have won their past six games at UTAS Stadium, including a six-point triumph over GWS last June.
The overall record at their 'home away from home' stands at 61-20-1 across 24 seasons and Mitchell believes the Hawks' competitive advantage there is worth at least one extra win per year.
But they've only played one previous night fixture in Launceston - a win over St Kilda in April 2018 - and the 7.35pm AEDT start throws up its own small challenges.
"We're getting used to playing at night," Mitchell said.
"We've played three games this season and they've all been at night.
"It's a bit of a different feeling and one of them was interstate ... so what the players do during the day is a bit of a work in progress for us."
