HAWTHORN is readying itself for a major challenge on Saturday against Richmond, with Brad Sewell describing the Tigers' midfield as one of the competition's best.

After an unspectacular start to the season in terms of clearances, the Hawks' onballers have dominated Melbourne (40-22) and Fremantle (48-24) at stoppages in the past fortnight.

But Sewell is expecting a bigger test against the Tigers, who only narrowly fell to third-placed Essendon on Saturday night.

"In weeks gone past we've had a couple of guys bob up and play well, and a few guys who were below par," Sewell said on Monday.

"But I thought on the weekend, for the most part our entire midfield was pretty good … but we've still got a long way to go.

"Richmond has got a sensational midfield division…[it's] one of the best.

"They've got a really good mix in there of inside and outside players, and their midfielders are kicking goals as well."

Sewell described the 56-point win over Fremantle as an even performance from forwards, defenders and midfielders.

The only source of criticism was a lapse in the third quarter that allowed Ross Lyon's team to reduce the deficit from 63 to 39 points.

"We'll go through it in our meeting today, but I think we'll be pretty disappointed with the way we came out in that third quarter," the 28-year-old said.

"They caught us off guard a little bit and it took us a little bit too long to respond and get back on top."

Sewell said he didn't know when Luke Hodge would return.

The Hawthorn captain was due to have scans on his injured knee on Monday.




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