Hear from Alastair Clarkson in the player above.

LANCE Franklin has joined his teammates on Friday's flight from Melbourne to Sydney and appears set to end his extended spell on the sidelines against the Swans at the SCG on Saturday evening.

Franklin's return from a hamstring injury, complicated by a minor traffic collision and a nasty virus, has been the subject of much speculation, and coach Alastair Clarkson was happy to finally have the dangerous forward back in the Hawks' line-up after six games out.

"I know there's a lot of hype about Lance, in particular, but it's all about guys just coming in and playing their roles and getting the job done for the side," Clarkson said from Melbourne Airport on Friday.

"What we're expecting is that he comes back and plays his role for the side. If he does that then we're pleased.

"In his absence we've had guys who have been able to fill his role quite capably and we've still been able to score, so that's been really pleasing … but there wouldn't be a coach in the land who would be pleased that Lance Franklin is playing.

"We're absolutely rapt that he's back available for us and we're pretty sure that if he just gets in and does what he needs to do for us then it helps us win games of football." 

Fellow inclusions Sam Mitchell and Josh Gibson joined Franklin in making the trip for Saturday's blockbuster, which Clarkson said could provide some invaluable lessons on the eve of the finals.

"It's still for the same four points as what we played for last week against Gold Coast, but there's probably more to draw out of this game in terms of seeing where we're at because we're up against a formidable opponent that we know we're probably going to have to face again if we want to salute at the end of the year," he said.

"Sydney are looking at it exactly the same way.

"They're playing against us knowing full well that anything they do tomorrow they're probably going to have to repeat at some stage in the finals to be able to get the job done and win the flag.

"That's what makes it an intriguing contest ... people are interested in the game. We're interested to see how we're going to go too. Hopefully it will be a great game of footy between two sides that have been pretty consistent throughout the course of the year."

Clarkson admitted he "hadn't been really pleased" with the way the Hawks had played over the past fortnight, despite comfortable winning margins, and was bemused by bookmakers who have installed his team as favourites to beat the Swans on Saturday and win the flag.

"Somehow they continue to slip under the radar even to the point where we're still favourites," he said.

"It's intriguing really when they've been on top of the ladder for the last eight to 10 rounds, they're one game clear and they're playing on their home patch.

"[But] it's not up to Hawthorn to determine who the premiership favourites are, it's up to us just to perform as well as we possibly can."