Hawthorn will open their AFL premiership defence in unusual fashion - as rank underdogs in a match relegated to second billing - but coach Alastair Clarkson is unfazed.

With all the hype surrounding Richmond-Carlton's season-opener on Thursday night, the grand final rematch between the Hawks' and Geelong has had only a minor share of the spotlight.

And the Hawks are at long odds, despite having won four of their past five games against the Cats, including the most recent, and most significant, encounter.

One reason is Geelong's superb pre-season form, which culminated in their thrashing of Collingwood in the NAB Cup grand final.

Another is the Hawks' injury plight, with four members of their premiership side unavailable, including key defender Trent Croad and tough midfielder Jordan Lewis.

There is also the feeling that the Cats' wounded pride, exacerbated by Hawks president Jeff Kennett questioning their mental toughness during the week, will result in them hitting Hawthorn with furious intensity.

But Clarkson was unperturbed, and said the Hawks had coped well with player unavailability before and had already shown they could defy the underdog tag in the grand final.

"Last year we were decimated through suspension in the early parts of the season, but we were still able to cope pretty well with that," Clarkson said on Thursday.

"We've just got a couple of guys that won't be able to get out on the park due to injury from late-season surgery.

"All we do know is we'll put 22 guys in brown and gold jumpers tomorrow night and we expect them to acquit themselves very well.

"We know it's going to be an enormous challenge because Geelong are in very good form as we've seen in the NAB Cup and we know that they're a quality outfit.

"But we back ourselves, just like no one gave us too much of a chance leading into the grand final, inwardly we gave ourselves an enormous chance and we do that again for round one."

He was also unconcerned by the likelihood that Kennett's comments will stir up the Cats.

Clarkson said he did not agree with Kennett that the Hawthorn players held a mental edge over their Geelong counterparts, but he was happy enough for the former Victorian premier to speak his mind.

He said Kennett's provocative and forthright nature was part of what had made him such a successful leader at Hawthorn.

"You can't expect to have a person of his quality in office at our footy club and not to be vocal on issues to do with our state, some of them to do with footy and some to do with issues outside footy," Clarkson said.

"We're pretty comfortable with the role that he plays here."

Clarkson was also comfortable with the spotlight on Friday night's match being dimmed by the focus on the previous night's encounter, saying it was largely a result of scheduling.

"Part of it is to do with Ben (Cousins) obviously but a lot of it is to do with (Richmond-Carlton) being the first game of the season," he said.

"If the Geelong-Hawthorn game was scheduled for the Thursday night then it's quite reasonable to expect that that would be a big part of the focus."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP