ALL AUSTRALIAN forward Luke Breust believes Hawthorn's form in its drought-breaking 50-point victory over West Coast was good enough "to beat any side".

Breust was among a number of premiership Hawks who hit back with a vengeance at the MCG on Sunday night after a nightmare 0-4 start to the season.

Many experts wrote off Hawthorn as even a finals contender throughout the opening-month slump, but the weekend evidence suggests that might have been premature.

"As silly as it sounds, we'll just focus this week on St Kilda (in Tasmania)," Breust told reporters.

"It's still a long way off – finals, top four, top eight even. I certainly wouldn't rule it out, but it was just a small step on the weekend in the right direction.

"I still think if we can play the footy we did on Sunday, we're a genuine chance to beat any side in the competition."

Breust managed a total of one behind across consecutive 86-point defeats to the Gold Coast and Geelong in the fortnight leading into the Eagles clash.

But he was one of four Hawks, along with skipper Jarryd Roughead, Jack Gunston and impressive 20-gamer Tim O'Brien, to boot three goals against West Coast.

Breust said the public criticism had not motivated Hawthorn, although he conceded it was hard to escape the scrutiny in the Melbourne football bubble.

"Obviously, if you're in Sydney or somewhere else, it might be a little bit easier, but as a footy club, we stuck together and tried to ignore it as much as possible," he said.

"I wouldn't say (our confidence) took a hit.

"We were very measured last week with what we needed to do. We were very clear going into the game what our roles were and we just got back to playing simple footy."

Breust had never experienced such a string of defeats since making his debut in 2011, winning 110 of 140 matches and three premierships since then.

He praised coach Alastair Clarkson's fierce backing of his players as a key factor in their ability to focus on the task at hand.

"It gives you the full confidence that you can go out and execute what you need to," Breust said.

"Clarko always supports his players and has done throughout my time at Hawthorn, so that's a great strength of his."

Breust said midfield recruit Jaeger O'Meara (bone bruising in his right knee) would be monitored during the week, but was no certainty to return after missing the past two matches.