Hawthorn are confident they have recovered from their bruising AFL encounter against Geelong last week in time to be competitive against the Western Bulldogs in another crucial test.

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said the match, won by Geelong, had taken a lot out of both sides and had meant a different approach to training this week.

"From all reports, the Cats are a bit sore and sorry too after the game," Clarkson said.

"We've recovered pretty well, had a bit of a lighter week and they're raring to go against the Dogs tomorrow.

"The players are remarkably resilient."

He said rugged midfielder Jordan Lewis would be fit after some concern over an ankle injury during the week.

"He's come up pretty well. He just rolled his ankle late in the game last week but it was pretty slight and minor and he's recovered really well from that," he said.

Clarkson said the Hawks had had to be extra careful with their management of players following the pre-season and had to manage stars Buddy Franklin, Chance Bateman and Cyril Rioli carefully as they returned last week.

"You play NAB Cup games and they're about 100 minutes of footy and then you get into the first round or two of the season and all of a sudden you're playing 120 or 130 minutes.

"It doesn't seem much, that extra 20 or 30 minutes, but on the back end of greater intensity and pretty warm conditions, if you do happen to get that in the first couple of rounds in the season, you get a lot of boys cramping.

"You've got to be really mindful of your program mid-week and what you do in the training programs.

"Buddy, Cyril and Chance are all in that boat, they just need to recover well and they're ready to go."

And he said Hawthorn was especially wary of the potential damage big Bulldog recruit Barry Hall could do this year.

"We had a pretty close look at him in round two of the NAB (Cup) - unfortunately we didn't get that close a look at him, he got on his own a bit.

"But he's a great player and the Dogs' forward structure has changed a little - they're kicking the ball into him a little bit longer and we've got to be mindful of that.

"But their forward line has always been pretty damaging - and even more so now that he adds a little bit more strength to their mix in terms of height," Clarkson said.

"It's not so much about Barry Hall and his direct opponent, it's more to do with how much supply he gets because if he gets a lot of supply at some point in time he's going to cause some damage."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP