HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson says his team needs to improve its ball movement after a 25-point loss to the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Saturday night.

The Hawks gave the home side a fright in the final term, closing to within 13 points with direct football, before the Lions kicked clear again in the last three minutes.

After a promising pre-season, Clarkson was left scratching his head after the match.

"I can't work out whether Brisbane played really well or we played really badly - but I suspect it was the latter," he said.

"We weren't on our game by a long way. Our transition of the ball from the back half to the middle of the ground was the problem - we have to regroup."

Meanwhile, Hawthorn's Jordan Lewis will have a nervous start to the week after he was placed on report for charging Cheynee Stiller right on halftime.