HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson has insisted the playing group has not been distracted by a turbulent week at Waverley, with controversy surrounding himself and star forward Lance Franklin.

Clarkson engaged in a heated discussion with The Mercury’s Brett Stubbs after his side’s loss to the Western Bulldogs on Saturday, while Franklin was involved in an incident in a Melbourne night club later that evening.

"The players have been able to divorce themselves a fair bit from what's gone on -- I've been a bit battered and bruised in the press a bit," said Clarkson.

"I was wishing there was a state game or Hall of Fame game to deflect the attention a bit," he laughed.

Clarkson insisted the focus of the group is firmly on this weekend's clash against the Bombers.

"It's a tough caper, and I think if you look over the past few years every coach at some point has deserved their fair whack. I've copped my serve this particular week ...  we live and learn and move on."

As for his under fire full forward, Clarkson said Franklin has not been side tracked by the extra attention. He also defended his stance on the treatment of players with star quality.

“He’s a tremendously resilient player. He’s had these types of distractions before… a lot of journalists have questioned me in terms of why I don’t want to pay particular attention to any one player in our team,” Clarkson said

“The attitude that we have to our playing group is that everyone has a role and if 22 players played their role, it gives us a great chance of winning the game.

“Part of the reason I don’t want a heavy focus on any particular player is because of the team element of our game but also it creates too much hysteria around one player.

“Attention outside of football becomes too big a focus on any one player or a group of players. It’s unhealthy for the player it’s unhealthy for the club and in a lot of instances, I think it’s unhealthy for the game.”