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Clarkson famously likened Geelong to a shark before the 2008 grand final in that a shark,like the Cats at the time,thrived on constant movement.

''Kill the shark,''he urged his players. They did. Just what he said last year before what was to prove a loss to the Swans has been something of a mystery.

Hawthorn midfielder Brad Sewell said he expected Clarkson to have''something special''to say on Saturday,but questioned whether it would provide greater motivation to achieve what all the players were already there to do - to capture a flag.

''I would almost say that you are that amped up yourself,the coach could almost get in there and draw flowers and ponies on the whiteboard and it wouldn't matter,''Sewell said.

''There was a lot of talk obviously after the'08[grand final],the shark analogy,I guess he used. I am sure he has got something special up his sleeve for Saturday afternoon as well.''

Hawks vice-captain Jordan Lewis said he expected Clarkson to reinforce the messages he has preached through the season,culminating in grand-final week.''The speech before the grand final,he will come up with some sort of analogy. But it's basically a refresher - this is what we need to do. If things go wrong,this is plan B,''he said.

''But,knowing Clarko,he will have something up his sleeve.''In a grand-final special on Channel Seven,legendary coach Leigh Matthews said he could barely recall a speech made by his Hawthorn coaches - John Kennedy,David Parkin and the late Allan Jeans - before the players headed out for the grandest day on the AFL calendar.

''What the coach says in the pre-game pep talk has always been a very overrated factor,''he said.''I don't think it makes much difference at all,to the extent I have been coached by some of the greatest orators in coaching history,I can hardly remember a word of what any of them said in the pre-game.''

Kennedy would say to''play the first quarter like it's the last thing you are going to do on Earth'',while Jeans'''pay the price''speech,at half-time of the 1989 grand final,left some players in tears as they made their way back down the race to face Geelong.

Mick Malthouse,another who knows plenty about grand final day,believes the pre-match address is''said from the heart''.

Heading into the 2011 grand final,his last match as Collingwood coach,he told his players the outside football world no longer''trusted''them,and urged them to show courage and mateship.

Once the address is done,the contest is then in the hands of the players.

''I don't know if other coaches feel this,but it's a hopelessness. Once you have delivered your last address,the players have done their warm-up,once they run down the race,you feel washed out,''Malthouse said.

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