LAST-GASP hero Jack Fitzpatrick has given himself every chance to maintain his spot in the Hawthorn line-up after impressing in the Hawks' one-point win thriller against Collingwood.

Fitzpatrick played both in the ruck and the forward line and kicked two goals, including one from the centre square to tie up the match with just three-and-a-half minutes to go.

The big man has had a horror 2016 with a knee injury, followed by a lengthy battle with concussion after crossing from Melbourne in the off-season. His match against Collingwood was his first for the Hawks.

Coach Alastair Clarkson said it was a good team effort between Fitzpatrick and late inclusion Marc Pittonet against an in-form Brodie Grundy.

WATCH: Alastair Clarkson's full post-match media conference

The Hawks won the hit-outs by one, and Fitzpatrick and Pittonet had a combined 17 disposals to Grundy's 21.

"Both those boys that came in, one's playing his first game [Fitzpatrick, for the club], and one's playing his third game [Pittonet]," Clarkson said.

"He played OK for them, Grundy, but given the task those two boys had and their inexperience, they did a fantastic job curbing the influence he could have had on the game.

"He [Fitzpatrick] kicked our first and last goal and they were both pretty important for us, particularly the last one. 

"If they continue to make a contribution like they did tonight – they've got a role to play, they're both big lads, and if they get their hands on the contest from time to time and give our midfielders good supply, then who knows?"

WATCH: The thrilling final minutes of Haw v Coll

The win gave Hawthorn a prized top-four position, and Clarkson said the Hawks had accomplished what they'd set out to do at the start of the season.

"In the context of the whole home and away, to go 17-5 and cope with the ins and outs of the home and away season has been really pleasing for us," he said.

"We'll need to play a little bit better than what we did throughout the course of today, but we set out to achieve a pretty significant goal for us, and that was top four and we were able to achieve it, so that's really pleasing."

Clarkson wasn't happy with his side's defence, as the Hawks gave up four final-quarter goals in a row after being 18 points in front.

"Probably the ease in which they got some of their goals; we don't like giving up 17 goals, and it's not often you win a game after you do. So we were a bit lucky in that sense," he said.

"It was a pretty open, free-flowing game, great for the fans but not so good for the heart-rate of the coaches in the box, or some of the players to be fair."

Ben McEvoy was a late withdrawal with back soreness, compounded by a disrupted week after the birth of his first child, but Clarkson said he should be fine to take on Geelong in a qualifying final in two weeks.

"We'll look at some things over the course of the week or the next 10 days and get ourselves ready for a pretty red-hot Cats side. They were pretty impressive yesterday, and we'll have to play a bit better than we did today.

"If the two sides play the way they did this weekend, it's going to be pretty hard to knock off the Cats."