Clarko wants on-ball heat

HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson has demanded a fierce response from his midfielders against Richmond tonight after they were embarrassed in their season reopener by arch-rival Geelong.

Clarkson conceded the Hawks were “smacked” in the contest and clearances by the Cats after half-time, resulting in a 61-point thrashing.

Hawthorn lost contested ball by 31 in the second half, clearances by 18 and ground balls by 31 — the worst differential since 2018.

But Clarkson expects the likes of James Worpel, Tom Mitchell and Shaun Burgoyne to stand up and take the fight to Richmond’s battlehardened on-ball division at the MCG.

“Whenever you get a fair licking like we did last week in the second half, these guys are proud players and I’d expect some sort of response,” Clarkson said.

“If we’re not strong in that space then we’re in for a pretty horrid night.”

Star on-baller Jaeger O’Meara’s return to the team last night from injury will be a boost to Hawthorn’s chances of upsetting the Tigers, who have won the past four meetings between the sides.

“We got smacked around the ball last week and we know we need to be a lot better in that space, but that wasn’t just personnel either,” Clarkson said.

“A lot of that was to do with method and intent.”

Clarkson’s former lieutenant Damien Hardwick tipped a backlash from the Hawks and expects a tough battle at the coalface as his Tigers seek to improve on last week’s draw with Collingwood.

“You always know a side coached by Clarko is incredibly tough to play against, especially after they’re smarting from a loss to an arch-rival in Geelong,” the Richmond coach said.

“We’re going to have our work cut out, but I think it’s going to be a high-quality, bigscoring game.”

Josh Caddy was named to return from a minor calf issue to bolster Richmond’s ranks.