The last time Hawthorn played in the final, James Worpel was 19, Alastair Clarkson was coach and Sam Mitchell helped lead West Coast to the 2018 championship run.

Six years later, Clarkson’s Kangaroos are all that separates Mitchell, the current Hawks coach, and General Worpel from a top-eight finish, and they could be shaping up to be a very special season.

“It’s really good. I’ve been here for seven years now and my first year I played a couple of finals but I probably didn’t appreciate it,” Worpel told AAP ahead of Saturday’s match at the University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston.

“So hopefully we can start winning this year and win some finals and see what we can do.

“The excitement, our running profile, our athletic profile has to be one of our strong points.

“We’ve got some experience, we’ve got some premiership players. We’ve just got to play our way and hopefully that will build.”

With Will Day out for at least another week with a dislocated collarbone, it will be up to Worpel – who gave the ball away 29 times and scored two goals against Richmond – and Jai Newcombe to lead the midfield.

“He’s one of our best players so we’ll miss him, but we just have to bring in another soldier,” said Worpel, 25.

“He’s such a difficult player to replace, I don’t think we can replace him. But we’re getting guys like Cam Mackenzie through – he’s a classy player. The more time he gets there the better.

“I have some good leaders around me. I don’t have to do that much, to be honest. We’re all pretty, pretty level-headed there.

“I just have to play my part and do my job first, and then the rest will follow.”

Finn Maginness replaces Day, while Jack Scrimshaw has been appointed despite dislocating his finger against Richmond.

The final is in the hands of Hawthorn, with a win guaranteeing a place in the top eight.

“Great feeling. But we still need to have a hard edge,” Newcombe said.

“North Melbourne also play very good football.

“So it’s not going to be an easy win. We just have to make sure we keep showing up and keep winning.

“They play in Tasmania as often as we do, so they love it there.

“They have some good players, they are a good team and we have to play our best football.”

The match has been moved from 4.40pm AEST to 12.30pm to minimise the need for floodlights due to a pay dispute between electricians and TasNetworks.

There is power in the stadium and the network is secured. Should there be a power outage, the staff does not intend to intervene.

Retiring former Hawk Liam Shiels will play his final game for the Kangaroos.

North’s Will Phillips, Toby Pink and Blake Drury have been recalled, while Charlie Comben (concussion), Miller Bergman (concussion) and Eddie Ford (out of action) are absent.

MONKEY