HAWTHORN's Sam Mitchell is confident he will be fit to face Fremantle after watching the Hawks' triumph over Richmond from the coaches box last Friday night.
Mitchell was a late withdrawal from the Tigers clash after he failed a fitness test on Friday morning with a corked calf he suffered a week earlier against Greater Western Sydney.
"I should be fine (to face the Dockers). It's very rare for a little knock in the calf to take two weeks," Mitchell told SEN on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old, who plans to move into coaching after his playing career, anxiously watched on as Richmond got off to a three-goal flier on Friday night, but was relieved to see the Hawks blow open the match with a nine-goals-to-three final term.
"The only game that we've played even close to that was probably round two against West Coast," Mitchell said.
"The scoreboard looked great at the end of the game, but I think the way we went about it from probably half way through the third quarter was certainly closer to the way we would like to be able to play.
"We need to play a bit better than we have been, but I think on the weekend was a step forward.
"Every year over the last three or four years, we've been able to win games without playing anywhere near our best.
" I think that's an important way to get through the season and give yourself a chance to finish in the top four."
Some critics believe the Hawks have declined to a point where the chasing pack can finally catch up, but Hawthorn has still started the season 5-2 and has blooded some youth as coach Alastair Clarkson speeds up the regeneration of the ageing list.
James Sicily (12 goals in seven games this season), Tim O'Brien (four games), Dan Howe (four), Kieran Lovell (two), Marc Pittonet (one) and Kaiden Brand (one) have all had tastes of the big time.
"In pre-season we talked about trying to get young guys a run of games, not just one or two, but trying to get them four, five, six or seven games in a row," Mitchell said.
"Being able to do that, a lot of it's been forced through injuries of course, but it's going to hold us in good stead as we go.
"When some of our other guys come back into the side there's going to be a hell of a lot of competition for spots.
"The experience that some of these young guys have been able to get, some of them in different positions too … a guy like Tim O'Brien has played nearly his whole career as a forward but he's had to play AFL footy as a defender.
"So it's a great learning curve for these kids."
The Hawks could welcome back James Frawley (concussion) and Ryan Schoenmakers (groin) against the Dockers in Launceston, while skipper Luke Hodge (knee) and Jarryd Roughead should return around mid-season.
Roughead hasn't played this year due to a posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, but the gun forward is joining in some group training.
"He's not playing this week or next week, but he's getting closer," Mitchell said.
"He did a bit of intro skills which got the boys right up last week. There was a lot of cheering and carrying on when he did his first couple of kicks and running around with the boys."
