Hawks told to lift after AFL basket case

Alastair Clarkson has called last week's loss a basket case and the Hawthorn coach has gone back to basics for the AFL blockbuster against Geelong.

But Clarkson says even if the Hawks slump to 0-4 with an Easter Monday loss, their season will still be alive.

He has zeroed in being competitive as the main change he wants to see when they take on the Cats.

After opening the season with four-goal losses to Essendon and Adelaide, Hawthorn slumped to an 86-point capitulation against Gold Coast.

It left the Hawks on the bottom of the ladder and inevitably heightened speculation that their great four-premiership era under Clarkson is now done.

But Clarkson noted that the Suns' demolition of his team was a massive turnaround from their performance the week before.

Gold Coast and Fremantle are now 2-2 after poor starts to the season.

"The first two (games) were okay in terms of competitiveness - last week was a basket case game for us," Clarkson said.

"Good teams respond (to) those sorts of situations.

"It can easily turn around - Fremantle were walloped a couple of weeks ago and won their last two games.

"Gold Coast - we saw the difference in them from one week to the next, it was nearly a 200-point turnaround in terms of the fortunes of the side."

Hawthorn made two unforced changes for Monday's match and Clarkson said there could have been plenty more.

But he said attitude, not personnel, will be the key to upsetting the unbeaten Cats.

"Really it just comes down to a genuine commitment to the contest and we were really poor interstate last week," he said.

"We're not going to get any pardons from Geelong, but we need to make the play.

"On the back of last week's performance, we probably had two players in the side who could put their hand up and say 'I went okay for the team'.

"You could make numerous changes."

Clarkson noted that Hawthorn made the finals in 2010 after a 1-6 start.

"As long as you just have belief and resolve that you'll work your way out of it, then we'll be fine," he said.

The Hawks also lost star recruit Jaeger O'Meara to a knee injury.

O'Meara has a well-documented history of knee problems, but Clarkson is hopeful the midfielder will only be out for one week.

"He had a scan earlier in the week and we thought it was going to be okay," he said.

"But then it didn't progress over the next three days ... it wasn't worth fiddling around.

"From what we gather ... albeit it's a knock to the same knee that's been sore previously, (but) we don't think there's anything related.

"So hopefully that will settle down over the next week and he'll play next week."