LANCE Franklin was only too happy to kick start the banter with his former teammates on Saturday night, Hawthorn spearhead Jarryd Roughead has revealed.

Jeered by the massive pro-Hawthorn crowd from the moment the Sydney Swans ran onto the MCG for their warm-up, Buddy wasted little time getting into the thick of the action.

Almost immediately after the ball was bounced, the $10 million superstar ran from the forward line to the defensive 50m to get in Roughead's ear.

Inside the first minute, Roughead marked 40m out and was lining up for the game's opening goal when Franklin stationed himself near the man on the mark and called out to his one-time teammate.

"He was just yapping, saying 'handball to me', which is what he used to say," Roughead told AFL.com.au.

It didn't faze Roughead, who went back and nailed the goal for the perfect start to his 200th game, but Franklin's influence was soon far more meaningful.

The Swans superstar threatened to rip the game apart in the opening half, booting 2.5 and taking six marks.

"He was on fire early," Roughead said.

But Buddy only added one more major before the Hawks ran out 10-point winners, with Hawthorn's midfield helping its under-fire defence turn the tide against Kurt Tippett, Adam Goodes and Franklin, who combined for nine majors.

"Those boys would say that the pressure our midfielders put on their midfield (helped)," Roughead said.

"(Swans midfielder Josh) Kennedy in that last quarter was super and just to be able to limit the supply that he was giving those boys was one of those things that you have to try and do.

"If you ask any of those bigger blokes in defence they would say that pressure helped them spoil and helped them out a fair bit."

In attack, Roughead was instrumental in the Hawks' crucial 13th win for the season.

The 2013 Coleman medallist booted 4.4, including two crucial goals in the third term as the Hawks charged from 23 points down to hit the front by nine at the final change.

"We knew that we were just going to have to hold the floodgates in a sense and then counter-attack," he said.

"Seven goals against a side and a defence like that, we're very pleased."

Roughead said the match had "a finals-like atmosphere", with the four points crucial to Hawthorn's bid for a top-two finish.

"For sure. Those last three games especially – Freo over there, Geelong and Collingwood – in a sense it's a good thing leading up to finals you're playing against those top sides," he said.

"If we can stay in that top-two and get a home final, it goes a long way to hopefully getting in the 'Granny' and hopefully winning it."