Time will tell whether Hawthorn have the hunger to keep ruling the AFL.
Coach Alastair Clarkson did not shoot down a question about his team's attitude on Friday.
The two-time defending premiers are yet to win two in a row and are coming off an upset loss to GWS when they meet Melbourne on Saturday at the MCG.
"It's a difficult one - that will be the proof, the test over time I suppose," Clarkson said.
"But there was nothing in what the players presented over summer that gave us any indication that they weren't really motivated.
"We've played against some good sides and it's just been momentary lapses in concentration and effort."
And Clarkson added there is no magic formula.
"Just word hard - no easy way," he said.
The Hawks coach said they are paying for too much difference between their best and worst form.
"A bit like a yo-yo - we've been up one week and then down the next," he said.
"We've played some pretty good footy ... (but) when we've had bad quarters, we've really let it slip."
But Clarkson was not interested in Chris Dawes' comments about the Hawks.
The Melbourne key forward said it was important not to show them too much respect.
Dawes added the Hawks at the moment are "really gettable".
Melbourne have not beaten Hawthorn since 2006.
"We'll let Melbourne say what they want to say and we'll say what we want to say," Clarkson said.
"We'll just prepare for the game and get into it tomorrow afternoon."
Former Melbourne defender James Frawley will return from a pectoral muscle injury to play against his old team.
Dawes said Frawley would be vulnerable after missing a month of games and he would try to expose the backman's lack of match fitness.
"I haven't heard anything out of Melbourne ... we wouldn't be playing him if we didn't think he was capable of playing some good footy for us," Clarkson said.
Angus Litherland also returns for his first senior game this season and Clarkson said the pair are important additions to their defence.
"We've just been a little bit undermanned in our back end for talls at different stages, with both (Brian) Lake and Frawley missing," Clarkson said.
"Hopefully Angus and Frawley coming into the side will just help with our stability in our back end a bit."
Another factor that would help the Hawks is less turnovers.
Clarkson said up to 14 of the Giants' 16 goals came from Hawthorn's ball-handling errors.
"That's unlike us, that we turn the ball over so frequently through the middle of the ground," he said.
"Some of it was our mistakes, some of it was forced by GWS, to their credit.
"I'm sure Melbourne are going to try to do the same thing."
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