Hawthorn's imposing start to the AFL season means they have the luxury of putting their mid-season hiccup down to experience.

After cementing a spot in the top four with nine straight wins, the Hawks have now lost two of their last four games.

The Western Bulldogs dissected them in Launceston, then came strong wins over Essendon and Adelaide and now North Melbourne have picked apart the Hawks' well-organised zone defence.

But ruckman Robert Campbell says the Hawks will adapt as opposing teams try different tactics against them.

"We're a maturing side and it's great to come up against sides who are trying different things against us, because it's only going to make us better," he said.

"If these losses happen mid-season, it's not the end of the world.

"We go and review the game, we see what they did against us so that if a team tries it against us next time, we'll hopefully be better prepared."

Campbell said the Hawks had their chances to hit back against the Kangaroos, but missed too many opportunities.

Lance Franklin kicked 1.3 after spraying his shots the week before for 1.6.

"I suppose he's showing he's human - he's been a bit of a freak, the first half of the season," Campbell said.

"He's obviously going to get a fair bit of attention from other sides, he'll take it as it comes, he's a pretty easy-going kid.

"He'll bounce back, I'm sure."

North have now won three of their last four games against the Hawks and Campbell admits the `Roos are proving a handful for his team.

"It came in the paper a couple of weeks ago - the bogey sides for certain teams - they're definitely one of our's," he said.

"They have a wide spread of consistent players, they don't have any superstars, like `Buddy'.

"They don't have guys who are over the top, but they have a consistent line right across the side and they come out and play hard-at-it footy.

"They take a lot of teams by surprise, I reckon."

The Hawks are hopeful veteran onballer Shane Crawford will return for Friday night's home game against West Coast after four weeks out through suspension and a knee injury.

Trent Croad (hip) and Tim Clarke (quad) should be available, while Chance Bateman (hamstring) will undergo a test.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP