VERY few teams pose such a serious threat forward of centre as the Western Bulldogs.

If Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton don't get you in the air, or Marcus Bontempelli while resting forward, there's Rhylee West and Arty Jones at ground level.

In-form Hawthorn defender Tom Barrass got a close look at Naughton's technique while the pair were temporary West Australian teammates in February's AAMI State of Origin match.

"With all teams, especially in today's game, they pose a number of threats up forward," Barrass told AFL.com.au.

"The Doggies are a particularly potent forward line, so we need to make sure – like every week – that we're really sturdy with our preparation and then make sure we're free of mind so we can relax and play good footy together.

"I was stealing a few tricks off 'Naughts' and the boys. Origin was just really a blessing for me to play in, and even playing against Lawson Humphries (last week), you gain a better understanding of players and people. Although I'll be going hard against 'Naughts' this weekend, I consider him a friend of mine after that experience. It was really great."

After four games, Barrass has taken 14 intercept marks, the third-most in the competition behind only Port Adelaide's Aliir Aliir and Gold Coast's Sam Collins.

The 30-year-old has been in fine form in his second year in Hawthorn colours, having also polled 12 coaches votes, the third-largest tally for a key defender.

He has now been working with Josh Battle, James Sicily and Jack Scrimshaw in Hawthorn's defence for over a year – with the former having also been a new face in the brown and gold last year – and the synchroneity is now on show.

"I think it took me 12 months to settle into life in Melbourne and understand myself as a person and a footballer again. Obviously I've got these two young beautiful kids (four-year-old Billy and three-year-old Benson) which can throw different challenges at you," Barrass said. 

"I've felt settled this year and have a better relationship with the backmen around me, and we understand how each other plays and that certainly helps.

"It just takes time generally. Every year is different, you see different challenges, teams learn how to play against Hawthorn and try different things – the whole season is a constant journey of adapting and changing and still trying to figure out how to play your best footy in what's an extremely competitive competition."

Standing on the last line of defence, Barrass got a front-row seat to the chaos playing out further afield in Hawthorn's last-gasp one-point win over Geelong on Easter Monday, a match widely regarded as an instant classic.

"It was a genuine heater. Just the pressure from both sides, the crowd – there were lots of mistakes in those last 10 minutes from genuine fatigue, but it was a quality game and hopefully it was a good spectacle for everyone to enjoy," he said.

"There was a period of time there where it was pretty hard to get the ball off Geelong, and they were making the field really big, so it was hard to defend the space. 

"Credit to them, they're an experienced outfit and they managed to pierce us a few times, but luckily our mids got on top late, and our forwards managed to kick goals. I think it was a very special win for the context of our club."