Essendon will take confidence from its win over Hawthorn earlier this season, but knows a lot has changed since the round two victory over the reigning premier.

The Bombers won that match by two points, but now sit in 13^th position while the Hawks have won their last three games to move to fifth.

“You take confidence in every win you have,” Essendon Coach James Hird said.

“It’s nine or ten weeks later so both teams are different, in different sort of form and you have to take each week differently.

“We’re looking at how we prepare this week, not what happened nine weeks ago.”

Two Hawthorn players were charged and another incident assessed by the match review panel following the side’s win over Adelaide last week.

But Hird knows it is more than just an aggressive approach that has made the Hawks one of the best teams in the competition.

“They’re a more than physical, they’re very skillful and they’re a team that’s won premierships. 

“We will go about our game the way we normally do.  We’re not boys, our players are men and they will play like men.”