COLLINGWOOD forward Tarkyn Lockyer says Hawthorn’s hunger is what got them over the line against the Magpies.

The Hawks came back from behind to knock Collingwood off by 45 points to keep their finals hopes alive on Saturday night and Lockyer says that desperation showed.

“They had a lot to play for. We clearly had a lot to play for to cement our place in the top four and keep our momentum going. Hawthorn’s season was on the line and they had a good come-from-behind win last week and probably got a bit of confidence out of that,” Lockyer said.

“If they had have dropped another game tonight they would have lost touch with the top eight a little bit. They gave us a good football lesson. They were hungrier and more competitive and wore us down in that second half. You really saw a one-sided contest.”

The Magpies were the better side in the first half and went in to the main break with four consecutive goals, two of which came from Lockyer’s boot.

But he says Hawthorn shut them out of the game after play commenced.

“I thought going in at half-time we were up and about and playing pretty well. The trademark of the Hawthorn side has been their ability to slow the play down and restrict the opposition from getting the ball inside 50,” he said.

“That rolling zone defence worked pretty well in the second half, particularly in the third quarter which set them up.”

The Magpies were behind closed doors for an extended period after the match but Lockyer says it was more about self-appraisal rather than a blast from coach Mick Malthouse.

“There were a few home truths. But we mainly talked about the opportunity lost more than anything,” he said.

“The trademark of a Collingwood side this year has been our ability to get 22 contributors and tonight we were far from it.”

The loss broke Collingwood’s seven-game winning streak and Lockyer said there would be no signs of panic as the side looks to regain that winning feeling in next Friday’s game against Carlton.

“You get back on the training track, dissect the game over the first couple of days this week and try to learn from your mistakes and get a couple of good training sessions under our belt and try to get some confidence from that. Certainly tonight was disappointing.”