Clarko: I believed

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said his team always had 'an inner belief' going into Saturday's AFL grand final against Geelong as the Hawks pulled off the biggest upset in a premiership decider for 50 years.

The Cats went into the 2008 grand final having lost just one game all season and had won 42 of their past 44 matches overall but their dream of winning back-to-back flags for the first time since 1952 evaporated at the hands of the inspired Hawks.

It was arguably the biggest grand final upset since Collingwood ended Melbourne's dreams of winning four successive flags back in 1958.

But Clarkson revealed after the game that despite all the Cats' dominance of the competition over the past two seasons, the Hawks' recent record against Mark Thompson's side had given him confidence in the build-up.

"Our form against them (Geelong) despite our lower ladder position and Geelong's dominance over the past two years has been quite good," he said after the Hawks' shock 26-point win at the MCG on Saturday.

"In 2006 we beat them twice and last year we won the one (and only) game in Tasmania by four points and it was such a great battle in Round 17 (when the Hawks lost by just 11 points)."

"So the players had an inner belief that despite Geelong's outstanding form as a side that if we played our best footy we could stack up well against them because we match up well against the Cats generally."

But despite now being the AFL's premier team, Clarkson said he still felt as if the Cats were the league's 'benchmark' team.

"I suppose the whole competition will look at us that way now because everyone always judges the premiers in that manner," he said.

"But I still expect Geelong will continue to be a dominant side next year."

"And while we got the victory today it could have been a different result and I wouldn't suggest for one minute that that (win) elevates us above Geelong because we still respect them enormously."

"They are still a more experienced group than us and we still think we have to chase them in terms of improving our performance in the couple of years ahead."

Clarkson described the Hawks' shock premiership win as 'overwhelming'.

"So much hard work goes in to winning a premiership and I know it's the 22 players (that play in the grand final) and the coach that get a lot of the accolades but so much work just goes into getting yourself in a position to even contest the grand final."

"I suppose it will sink in over the next couple of weeks that we have actually won one but it's all a bit surreal at the minute."