HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson was delighted with his side's attitude and intensity in its comfortable victory against Fremantle at Patersons Stadium on Saturday night.

The Hawks dominated from start to finish in their 51-point victory, overcoming the horrendous conditions to take a 37-point quarter-time lead and control the game to its end.

Clarkson said it was far from his team's most polished performance of the season, largely due to the wild weather, but was thrilled with its hard-working approach to the match.

"There's nothing really special about these nights, they're just tough grinds," he said.

"It was a pretty important victory for us. It's always hard to win on the road and especially in Perth and with pretty wet and wild conditions.

"It wasn't a great night for taking a lot of marks or kicking a lot of spectacular goals, it was just going to be a really hard grind.

"It was probably the second quarter that was the telling quarter because Fremantle just couldn't get the ball forward enough to be able to kick a score when they still had a pretty significant breeze.

"Our boys worked really hard in that quarter. To win that quarter, even though it was only by a couple of points, was really important for us."

With captain Luke Hodge unavailable due to a knee injury, it was some of Hawthorn's other experienced midfielders who carried the load.

Brad Sewell was arguably the Hawks' best player, finishing the game with 21 kicks and eight handballs, while Sam Mitchell and Grant Birchall (both 24 disposals) and Jordan Lewis (22) also impressed.

And it was their solid performances which allowed the Hawks to dominate the inside 50s 61-34 and control the flow of the game.

"We're really pleased with the even contribution we had through that area of the ground," Clarkson said.

"We had a really tough and strong midfield and it was really important that they stepped up with Hodgey withdrawing late from the game.

"(The biggest thing) was probably just that we were winning the ball around the contests. Even early on it was pretty slippery and tough but we moved the ball forward pretty well and it was just weight of opportunity, nothing really special."

The coach said Hodge was a strong chance to return for next Sunday's game against North Melbourne in Launceston.

"With a big travel game, a six day break it was really important that we had fresh players out there tonight on a big ground. So we decided to give him a rest and hopefully he'll be right to play next week," he said.

"We'll assess him tomorrow. Hopefully the swelling has gone down a bit and he'll be right to play."

Meanwhile, star forward Lance Franklin didn't kick a goal and was well held by Fremantle defender Alex Silvagni, but Clarkson said he still played an important role.

"Those defensive pressure acts that he performed were just first class and those things from everyone were the reason why we ended up winning the game."