JARRYD Roughead is the 2013 Coleman Medalist but according to Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson, fellow star forward Lance Franklin deserves some of the plaudits as well. 

Roughead's four-goal haul against the Sydney Swans on Friday night gave him 68 goals for the season, enough to earn the AFL's goalkicking title, and is the result of a concerted effort by the Hawks to spread the scoring load.

For years, Hawthorn has been too Franklin-conscious in its forward line, but a decision to move Buddy up the ground this year has reaped huge rewards, not just for Roughead, but also for the club.

"It's a reflection of Buddy's willingness to sacrifice his game that has allowed Roughy to get more opportunity in the front part of the ground," Clarkson said on Monday at a media conference to launch the 2013 finals.

"He's played higher on occasions and that’s allowed Roughy, Luke Breust and Jack Gunston to be important goalkickers for us as well.

"The spread of goals has been really important for us this year and Roughy has really benefitted from that. That's been really pleasing for us and he's received a great accolade from the game, which is great for him and great for our footy club."

The Hawks are bracing themselves to be without Franklin for Friday night's MCG qualifying final against the Sydney Swans, with the star forward on report for high contact against Nick Malceski. The prevailing view is that he will face a two-match suspension, reduced to one match with an early plea.

Hawthorn has won 13 of its last 14 matches without Franklin in the side, but Clarkson reiterated on Monday that his importance to the team remains immense.

"We really need him," Clarkson said. "He's a very important player for our side but we have worked very hard over the last 12 months to spread our load and that's not just to do with Buddy but through our midfield as well."

The Hawks bat deeper through the midfield in 2013 and in any given match between 10 and 12 players might take turns starting in the centre square after a goal.

Part of that is to become less predictable and part of that is to keep hard nuts like Sam Mitchell and Brad Sewell fresh for the pointy end of the season.

That depth spreads across the playing list, and while Clarkson was loath to nominate just how many players feature on the depth chart, he did say that an area for improvement this year compared to last is that youngsters such as Jed Anderson, Sam Grimley, Taylor Duryea and Will Langford have been able to step in and play a role as required.

"The energy of those young fellows coming into the group is really important," he said.

Hawk skipper Luke Hodge appeared with Clarkson on Monday and lauded Anderson for his tackle on Sydney's Josh Kennedy on Friday night that resulted in the first goal of the final term and kick-started Hawthorn's match winning quarter.

Clarkson and Hodge agreed that the Swans clash represented an ideal hit-out on the eve of the finals, and while both sides left out players with even minor fitness concerns, there was no shortage of intensity from either team.

And Clarkson said once again that the difference between this year and last year, when the Hawks also finished on top of the ladder, was that they have been able to better manage their playing list through the demands of the season.

"We won early games of footy this year, which was really important. Last year we were 5-4 after losing to Richmond and we had to work really hard to get ourselves into the position we did. We finished top but it took until round 22 or 23 to do so.

"I just feel like our preparation has been steadier this year and if anyone has had a niggle we haven’t played them, whereas last year we would have played them because we had to keep winning games," he said.