HAWTHORN will look to limit Cyril Rioli's game time for the remainder of the season as coach Alastair Clarkson continues to search for the perfect position for his star.

After missing the past three weeks (including the bye) with a hamstring injury, Rioli returned to the Hawthorn side on Sunday in superb fashion.

Rioli had 16 touches, five tackles, kicked three goals and also had three score assists as the Hawks went on to defeat Melbourne by 54 points.  

Clarkson has pushed Rioli into the midfield on several occasions this season with his speed and pressure an asset in the middle of the ground.

Against Melbourne, Clarkson left Rioli to join teammate Lance Franklin up forward, where they terrorised the Demons' defenders, kicking eight goals between them.

When asked which position he thought Rioli was best suited to, Clarkson quipped: "Probably the thing we'd like to do is find another one similar to him and get him into our club. He's a pretty unique player."

"We're really hopeful that he can get a good run of it into the last part of the year but we're yet to ascertain as to where he is best suited. We know that he can play both positions really well.

"It'll depend on opponents and how well he's going. If he's not getting much of the footy forward then we'll put him in the midfield and vice versa."

Following a string of hamstring injuries, Rioli has had to redevelop his running style to help prevent a reoccurrence but Clarkson said the star's game time would also be restricted in a bid to preserve Rioli for September.

"We don't want him to play 100 per cent game time," Clarkson said.

"If he plays somewhere between 80 to 85 per cent that's sort of the margin we'd look at in terms of percentages but whether that's a little bit of midfield or forward [we don't know]. Hopefully the flexibility of he being able to do both at different stages is really valuable for our side."

Rioli was one of three key players who returned for the Hawks on Sunday.

Jordan Lewis (suspension) and Brad Sewell (knee) all made solid contributions in their comeback game and things are starting to look up for Clarkson on the selection front.

"We're starting to see a little bit of blue sky in terms of availability of our players. We just need to have a more fortunate run with injury in the next five or six weeks leading into finals."

After being ravaged by injury throughout the season, the Hawks are starting to welcome back more players each week.

Utility Jordan Lisle should be available for next week's clash against Fremantle, while midfielder Chance Bateman and defender Matt Suckling are also a chance to return.

"Lisle was terrific in the Box Hill victory over the Bullants yesterday so he'll put himself right back into contention," Clarkson said.

"We've got a couple of others, Suckling will be available for selection so will Bateman and maybe one or two others."

The only concern for Clarkson was a minor shoulder injury to midfielder Shane Savage, who was subbed out of the game in the third term as a precaution.

"I think he's just got a bit of a stinger. We'll get it assessed during the week, if it's a little bit sore we'll give him a rest next week," Clarkson said.

Hawthorn now has a six-day break before it faces Fremantle at Patersons Stadium next Saturday night.