Brisbane coach Chris Fagan reckons talk of Hawthorn's AFL decline is overblown as he prepares to coach against his old side for the first time.
The Lions take on the Hawks on Saturday at the University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston.
Fagan - originally from Tasmania - spent nine years at Hawthorn under coach Alastair Clarkson in two different roles and was instrumental in their four premiership victories in 2008 and from 2013-15.
The Hawks have struggled badly since his departure late last year and sit just one win above the bottom-placed Lions on the ladder.
But Fagan doesn't believe their position reflects their true ability and says their recent wins over Melbourne and West Coast are proof they have recovered from a shocking start to the season.
"They haven't been sliding too much lately in the last couple of weeks," Fagan told reporters on Thursday.
"I think they're back on the up.
"The thing about Hawthorn, we need to judge them at the end of the year, not right now, to see what the outcome is.
"They're a very-talented football team and I expect they'll improve as the year goes on."
Fagan has plenty of inside intelligence on the Hawks but says there is no point burdening his young players with all of it.
"Their personnel have changed a little bit. Clarko's always tweaking his game plan so the way they've played in previous years will be a little bit different," he said.
"Clarko and I have been friends for 20 years and we're still friends.
"We still speak to each other - there's probably been a cone of silence for a couple of weeks leading up to this game.
"It helps a little that you know the habits, strengths and weaknesses of each player but, ultimately, I could tell our players all that stuff and it might just confuse them.
"You can overcook it sometimes. We're trying to keep things pretty simple."
The Lions will be without two of their most-experienced players with skipper Dayne Beams sidelined by a quad injury and rugged midfielder Mitch Robinson to miss at least the next 10 weeks due to a fractured foot.
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