ALASTAIR Clarkson says he doesn't "give a toss" if his side matches contested ball kings the Sydney Swans at their own game, but he's put the heat on his midfield to stand up in the top-of-the-table blockbuster on Thursday night.

The Swans are the AFL's dominant contested possession side, and they average 26 more per game than Hawthorn.

However, Clarkson dismissed the statistic as irrelevant ahead of the SCG clash, instead calling on his onball division to compete with the Swans' vaunted midfield, including Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker, Dan Hannebery and Tom Mitchell.

"Contested ball's just a fancy term for everyone in the media. We don't give a toss about that either," Clarkson said at Melbourne Airport after earlier dismissing the focus on who holds premiership favouritism.

"We've won five contested ball contests in about two years, so we've still won lots of games of footy.

"People can make what they want of stats. We don't like in a significant, competitive game you're viewed as being No.18 in one facet of the game, but really it's not talked internally at our club at all."

Clarkson said there were no secrets to beating the Swans, who are coming off a shellacking of Geelong at Simonds Stadium.

"The thing with Sydney that has been the same with them for a long, long period of time is their significant strength is what they do in the middle of the ground," Clarkson said.

"If we compete on equal terms in that are of the ground then we give ourselves a chance to win.

"But if they're dominant in that part of the ground, which they have been on a frequent basis and they were last week against Geelong … we've got a really significant challenge in that regard in the middle of the ground.

"All of their players in that part of the ground are All Australian players and have been consistent performers and very, very durable for a long, long period of time and that's what makes them tough to beat."

The Hawks haven't played at the SCG since 2012 and will be seeking revenge after a 14-point round-nine loss to the Swans at the MCG.

Making the task even tougher is the loss of tackling machine Liam Shiels, with the hard nut set to be sidelined for up to a month with a hamstring complaint.

Forgotten Hawk Brendan Whitecross and youngster Jono O'Rourke both flew to Sydney on Wednesday, while Clarkson confirmed Will Langford (punctured lung) was also available.

If Whitecross is picked, it will be the 26-year-old's first AFL game since round six last season, when he was on the comeback from his second knee reconstruction.

Hawthorn, which is on a six-game winning streak, could move two wins clear on top of the ladder with victory over the Swans.

But Clarkson said trialling players in different positions and bringing through youth was more important to the Hawks than playing their best football at this time of the year.

"We know that the season goes in spits and spurts, everyone in the media wants to declare a premiership favourite every week," he said.

"But for those that are in the game, we couldn't give a toss about who is premiership favourite at this point in time.

"It's about who's playing the best footy in September and early October and that will continue to be our focus."