The Kangaroos' 22-point AFL win over Hawthorn came with only 20 fit men and followed a dramatic half-time plea from coach Dean Laidley.

But he wants to hear nothing about so-called "Shinboner spirit" - and even less about the perception that he is not promoting enough young players.

The 'Roos lost David Hale (concussion) and Michael Firrito (lower leg) before halftime, while Daniel Pratt needed an injection in his shoulder.

"I addressed that at halftime and said to them 'this will be one of your greatest wins, ever'," Laidley said.

"We had two on the bench, we had Daniel Pratt getting an (shoulder) injection and we weren't quite sure where he was going to be at.

"So we asked for some big efforts from guys and the whole group responded."

Much has been made over the years about the Kangaroos' Shinboner spirit - the club's historical resilience in times of adversity.

But Laidley would rather focus on what his team is doing now.

"That's probably got to do with our talent," he said of the performance.

"So do we call it Shinboner spirit because we won or do we call it talent?"

The win was the Kangaroos' second for the season and followed several weeks of scrutiny, especially over their recruiting.

Laidley said there was a perception that Hawthorn was a younger team than his, something he was keen to refute.

"It's about perception, really, isn't it ... that's probably their best 22 currently, we've had four players who have played over 200 games, they've had two," he said.

"From 100-200 games we've had five players, they've had six.

"Between 50-100 games we've had six, they've had seven.

"From 0-50 games, both teams have had seven.

"We're here to tell our supporters that we are just as young, and are going forward with some of those guys you saw out there today, as everyone else."

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