Tonight's tribunal decision - which could potentially keep Hawthorn’s Lance Franklin out of Saturday’s finals deciding clash - is not a focus for Matthew Knights and his side.

Speaking to the media this morning, Knights said the team is concentrating on the opportunity ahead of them and the many quality players that Hawthorn have in their outfit.

“I’m not too concerned about the tribunal decision, I haven’t really got involved in it or even thought about it too much as there is no reason for me too, I’ll just sit tight and see what the outcome is,"" he said.

“It’s a busy week - we only got back from Perth on Sunday evening; we reviewed last week’s game and had rehab yesterday and will train today.

“I don’t think the players would have thought about him too much at all, they might a bit today as that is only natural but it is not a focus for us at all.

“Last week the Hawks were up and moving and Franklin looked dangerous up front but Hodge, Mitchell and Bateman played very well too. All those players were great last week and are some of the elite players of the competition.

“That is why they won last year’s premiership because they have several quality people in their line-up.”
 
 
Knights spoke of the history between the two sides and highlighted Essendon’s 1984 and 1985 premiership wins against the Hawks and the 25th anniversary celebrations of them as something that they could draw inspiration from.
 
“It’s going to be a tough contest and it is almost eerie that we have had the '84/'85 premiership theme this year with many past players coming back to the club and now Essendon and Hawthorn will play on the last round of the season for a spot in the finals,"" he said.
 
“To have guys from those premiership teams like Simon Madden, Billy Duckworth and Terry Daniher to come back to the club this year has been fantastic for our group.
 
“It was a real eye opener for our players to see what a great team it was and how special it was to be in a group that won a premiership.
 
“Both teams have looked back at their history and celebrated it this year, now it’s time to create it.”
 
To book tickets to this year's Crichton Medal click here.
 
Not willing to make any excuses for the Bombers’ lack lustre performance against Fremantle, Knights believes his side will bounce back this weekend.
 
“We did speak about last week’s performance briefly, I think you have to as a group to reflect and learn - I spoke after the game pretty candidly,"" he said.
 
“A five or ten minute chat about it on Monday was about as far as it went but then it was all about the great opportunity we have of playing Hawthorn this week, the situation we are in and the big crowd that will be there.
 
“I think this generated some enthusiasm and spirit pretty quickly. I guess the great thing about this team  is that they’ve been able to bounce back and get past the disappointing performances throughout the year.
 
“It’s really big for our group to be playing in front of such a big crowd; the stakes are so high on the end of a win or a loss for both sides.
 
“I’m looking forward to the 22 men who get selected to go out there and make the club proud.” 
 
To learn more about the Very Special Kids fundraiser at Windy Hill Venue this Friday night click here.