GOLD Coast is optimistic Ava Usher has avoided a serious knee injury late in Sunday's elimination final loss to Hawthorn.

Usher crumpled to the People First Stadium turf in the dying minutes of the 18-point loss, immediately grabbing her right knee.

SUNS V HAWKS Full match details and stats

However, Suns coach Rhyce Shaw said they were "quietly confident" the teenager had avoided the worst possible outcome.

"She seems OK," Shaw said.

"I don't think it's as bad as it looked. Some good news, but obviously we'd have to wait and see … these things can sneak up on you.

"We're quietly confident it's not as bad as first thought."

Usher ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in 2024 and had complications again last year that all-but wiped out two years of football before she debuted in the AFLW.

She has had a stunning first season, earning a Telstra AFLW Rising Star nomination and being named in the 42-strong All-Australian squad earlier in the week.

Usher looked distraught when she hit the ground, but returned to the field post-siren to join her teammates and had no ice on the area following the match.

"Obviously when you get that type of hit to your knee, and she's already done her knee, that can give you a big scare I reckon. It's understandable," Shaw said.

"The docs tested her, but again we'll have to wait and see until the scans come up. She seems in good spirits."

Although Usher was in good spirits about her knee, Shaw said the Suns were disappointed to bow out in week one of the finals.

"I don't think we played to our capability, so that's probably the biggest disappointment, and that hurts right now, but I think what we've achieved this year cannot go unnoticed," he said.

"We didn't quite execute offensively … and I don't think we took our chances as well as we could have. I thought Hawthorn did a really good job of outworking us in the contest and then taking their opportunities."

Hawthorn coach Daniel Webster said it was a "great feeling" to win the club's first final after four unsuccessful attempts in the past two years.

"The first finals series (2024) we were right in those games. Last year was challenging in a lot of ways. This is really good for us to get the reward because you put so much effort and time into it," Webster said.

"I think we've definitely been building and the confidence is building in the group.

"We've beaten North and we've competed really well against Melbourne and Carlton … we know our best football can compete with the best and beat the best."