LANCE Franklin's hamstring injury will see him on the sidelines for up to three weeks, but the club is confident it can find ways to win without him.

The superstar forward is set to miss this week's clash with the Western Bulldogs, and then games against fellow top four challengers Collingwood and Essendon.

The latter two, in particular, will be crucial in the context of Alastair Clarkson's team's double chance hopes.

Although Franklin's absence is sure to hurt, the Hawks shouldn't feel too downtrodden, for they have coped remarkably well in his rare absences.

Their win-loss record in games without Franklin since the start of 2007 is 7-4, a success rate of nearly 64 per cent.

That's better than their winning percentage in games with the three-time All Australian in the same period, which is 58 per cent (77 wins, 44 losses, one draw).

Last year's Franklin-less wins over Fremantle and Essendon were also achieved without Jarryd Roughead, who was on the sidelines with a ruptured achilles.

Hawthorn struggled for much of the clash with Freo at the MCG, but coach Alastair Clarkson's move to isolate Cyril Rioli inside forward 50 proved match winning.

The small forward booted five goals, piloting a come-from-behind 22-point victory.

Against the Bombers - who the Hawks are likely to confront without Franklin once again in three weeks' time - they had 11 different goalkickers.

Youngsters Shane Savage, Liam Shiels and Isaac Smith led the way with three each as Clarkson's men booted 23 goals in a 65-point thrashing.

That Franklin has played 133 of a possible 144 games in the last five-and-a-half seasons underlines his resilience.

Only four of the 11 matches missed were due to injury, with suspension accounting for five.

He missed a game with the flu in 2007 and was rested from 2011's round 24 dead rubber against Gold Coast.

But this time around the Hawks will have Roughead fit and in form, alongside new forward line acquisition Jack Gunston and Roughead's ruck/forward partner David Hale.

At their feet are Luke Breust, Paul Puopolo and Cyril Riol, who have all chipped in with goals consistently.

Clarkson has long asked his players not to look for Franklin too often when kicking the ball inside forward 50.

Now is their chance to show they can still win games when they can't kick it to him at all.

Mark Macgugan covers Hawks news for AFL.com.au and hawthornfc.com.au. Twitter: @AFL_MarkM.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs