Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson is predicting a "fierce" Collingwood to face the Hawks on Friday night after the Magpies were defeated last week.

In-form North Melbourne ran Collingwood ragged in what was the worst performance this year from Nathan Buckley's men, but Clarkson is not expecting a repeat of that. 

"By their standards, they were pretty average last week, but the Kangas were outstandingly good," Clarkson said. 

"We expect a pretty fierce response from the Pies. We know they're a proud club, and they would have been disappointed with their performance. 

"Having said that, they've won 10 games, so they're in a pretty good space. We have a few more issues than they have right at the present time. 

"We've got our own things we need to focus on and what we need to do to try and win this game of footy, and we'll be endeavouring to do that." 

Read: Rivalry quiz - Collingwood

Hawthorn resisted the temptation to bring All Australian defender Grant Birchall back after playing the first half of the past two VFL games, and also didn't select Jarryd Roughead (side strain).

Birchall will play close to a full game for Box Hill this weekend, after last playing at AFL level in round 15, 2017. 

Skipper Ben Stratton will return after missing two games through suspension, but Clarkson said there would not be "wholesale changes" after a competitive effort against West Coast.

The Hawks have lost four games in a row – none by more than 19 points – to slide to a 5-9 win-loss record, but still have a percentage of 96.9.

"We've got eight games of the season to go, and where that takes us, in terms of finals and all that sort of stuff for this year – it's not about the short-term goal for us," Clarkson said.

"It's about the big picture and the long game, in terms of when can we next seriously compete for silverware, and I know I speak about that a lot, but that's what our focus is on.

"It's about exploring the playing group we think can help us get there, as well as the method." 

Hawthorn will be celebrating the inaugural Emergency Services match against Collingwood this Friday night at the MCG. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 7.15pm to witness an exciting pre-match ceremony.

The BankVic Emergency Services Interactive Fan Zone will be open from 4.30pm.

To donate, head to esf.com.au.