AFTER riding the twists and turns of the ferocious Hawthorn-Geelong rivalry, Hawks defender Ben Stratton is eager to see what the next instalment will be.

Stratton made his debut during the "Kennett Curse" era in 2010 and has been front and centre during several high-stakes scraps between the clubs in the past five seasons.

He is expecting Saturday night's blockbuster MCG battle to be no different.

"It's been good, over the last four or five years we've had some pretty tight battles," Stratton told AFL.com.au after Saturday night's crucial win over West Coast.

"No matter where we are on the ladder they're always going to be a close game, so you look forward to those matches."

Both teams enter the clash after stirring victories in round 19.  

The Hawks, who are third, stepped up their bid for a top-two spot when they defeated the second-placed Eagle by 14 points on the road.

Meanwhile, Geelong illustrated its finals credentials with a 32-point defeat of the Sydney Swans.

Geelong is six points outside the top four with four rounds to play.

"They're fighting for finals as well and the top four maybe," Stratton said.

"That's a pretty important game, so we'll wipe this (Eagles) game pretty quickly and look forward to that."

After a slow start to the season, Hawthorn has won nine of its past 10 matches to rocket back to the top of flag calculations.

The streak has included victories over chief finals rivals Fremantle (72 points), the Swans (89 points) and West Coast.

But Stratton, who has played in the past two premierships, is keeping his feet on the ground as Hawthorn chases a hat-trick of flags this season.

"We played some good footy, but we've also got some improvement areas," he said.

"That Sydney game felt closer than what it was.

"I suppose it's good to get some form, but we've still got a lot of things to work on and we'll do that heading into finals."