The Hawks qualified for the finals with a 26.14 (170) to 7.4 (46) thrashing of North Melbourne on Saturday afternoon in Launceston.
Hawthorn have won five of their past six games to secure their first top eight spot since 2018, capping a stunning rise after a 0-5 start to the season.
"We've known for six weeks we could maybe afford to lose one game and we did lose that one game," Hawks coach Sam Mitchell said.
"We're going to have to be consistent for another four games if we're going to get all the way ... winning finals is tough to do but we've given ourselves a chance."
Mitchell said he was buoyed by the team's performances early in the season despite not getting the results on the scoreboard.
"We wanted to build a team ... a game style that stands up in finals footy," he said.
"Now we're in finals footy and time will tell. I'm confident that it will (stand up).
"The great challenge for us now is 'what is the ceiling?' I've never put one on."
Hawthorn, seventh heading into the final round and needing to win to secure a spot in the eight, piled on 10 goals in the last term for their biggest-ever win over the Kangaroos.
Dylan Moore kicked four majors, while Nick Watson, Connor Macdonald and Mabior Chol all booted three.Â
The wizard's got a third 🧙�♂�— AFL (@AFL) #AFLHawksNorth pic.twitter.com/ySxz7t7x32August 24, 2024
Massimo D'Ambrosio (31 disposals, two goals) and Jai Newcombe (35 possessions, 10 clearances) were among their best.
Midfielder Conor Nash copped a cork to the leg and was substituted out in the third quarter as a precaution.
North Melbourne finish the year with just three wins and in the bottom two on the ladder for the fifth season in a row.
Jy Simpkin tried hard in a losing battle, kicking three goals for the first time in his career and picking up 25 touches.
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson, who won four premierships with Hawthorn, praised his former side.Â
"The spirit fell out of us unfortunately," he said.Â
"The Hawks have played some really good footy in the second half of the year. They showed us a clear pair of heels."
Connor Macdonald snaps one of his three goals for the day against North. (Linda Higginson/AAP PHOTOS)
The match was brought forward four hours to played in daylight bizarrely because of uncertainty around the power supply to University of Tasmania Stadium.
Power network workers in Tasmania have been taking industrial action and wouldn't have restored electricity in the event of an outage.
The opening quarter was scrappy early before Hawthorn started to pull away for a 28-7 lead at the first break.
They kicked eight goals to three in the second, although the Kangaroos were able to stem the bleeding somewhat with the last two of the term.
26°C