Beating Sydney in Saturday’s AFL grand final would be the last piece of a five-year plan at Hawthorn.

This is the last year of their five-year strategy called “five 2 fifty”, where they aim to win two premierships and reach at least 50,000 members.

That started in 2008, when Hawthorn upset Geelong in the grand final.

They now boast more than 60,000 members.

“That’s the one thing we have to finish off,” Hawks president Andrew Newbold said of Saturday’s clash.

Newbold confidently predicted a much stronger performance in the grand final after their near-disaster last weekend.

The Hawks reached the premiership decider against Sydney after struggling to overcome Adelaide by five points in a nail-biting preliminary final.

“I was more anxious last week than this week and now we’ve made it, it’s a great thing for the club and we’re looking forward to it,” Newbold said on Wednesday.

“This week you’ll see a different Hawthorn footy side – last week we were a bit off, a bit below par and I’m expecting us come out and bring our A-game.

“As a club, we are ready.”

Newbold admits reaching the grand final is a dream come true in his first year as club president.

He took over from former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett and has had a much lower profile than his outspoken predecessor.

Speaking at a pre-grand final lunch in the Melbourne CBD, Newbold also praised Hawks defender Brent Guerra for deciding to pull out of the grand final team.

Guerra made the call on Monday as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

“Brent really epitomises the club and that is it’s about the team, not about the individual glory,” Newbold said.

“That’s why this club has had such a fantastic year, because … people are putting the club before themselves.”

Last week, captain Luke Hodge was a late withdrawal from the team because of illness and will return for the grand final.

“Thank God he’s back this week, that’s all I can say,” the president said.

Newbold said regardless of Saturday’s result, the club had enjoyed a memorable year.

“These things are hard to win and win or lose, I’m bloody proud of what we’ve done this year,” he said.

“Hawthorn’s culture is second to none, we have an outstanding group of people.

“If you ask what I’m most proud of, it’s not necessarily getting to a grand final, it’s our people.”