HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson has emphatically backed his defensive group to nullify the Eagles' tall forwards on Saturday night.

The Hawks have already battled a number of intimidating forward combinations, but the Eagles pose a different threat, with up to four key forwards likely to rotate.

One of those is the ever-improving Josh Kennedy who has already booted 10 goals this season.

“All the very good sides in the competition have monster tall forwards and we’re going to have to deal with that for the whole of the year,” Clarkson said.

“Occasionally you’re going to lower your colours, but we’re hoping we don’t lower them tomorrow because they are a significant threat.

“They are a big part of the way that they player their footy.”

The role of the Hawks’ half backline could play a big role in the outcome of the match, however, with the ability to hurt the Eagles tall forwards on the rebound an important aspect of the contest.

“They’ve (West Coast) got to be concerned too, that if the ball does hit the deck we’ll hopefully be able to rebound well,” Clarkson said.

“Which side gets the ascendency in that regard, we’ll just have to wait and see how the game unfolds.

“They’re going with their strategy, and we’re going with ours and hopefully we can spoil enough balls to allow it to be a threat for us.”

The Hawks have had a challenging start to the home-and-away season but Clarkson is confident in his side’s ability to play their brand of football regardless of the opposition.

“We’ve just got to approach it week by week - we know West Coast are undefeated and have some good form on the board,” he said.

“We’re hopeful we can be a good challenge for them and we’re quietly confident that we can do well."

Bradley Hill will make his debut for the Hawks in his home state after impressing the coaching staff over the pre-season and Clarkson says the Club is excited to have him in the side.

“(He has) a fantastic engine and is a very elusive type of player. We’re really excited, he’s only a young player, he’s only been at our club for six months,” he said.

“He’s been in really good form in the VFL and we’re really pleased he gets his opportunity.

“It’s great for the family (playing in WA), and great for our footy club that we get to inject a young kid into the side so early in the season.”   

Kate Salemme is a member of Hawthorn Football Club’s Digital media team reporting exclusively for hawthornfc.com.au from the Ricoh Centre.