ALTHOUGH Hawthorn has made an indifferent start to its premiership defence, Carlton coach Brett Ratten believes playing the Hawks this week will provide a guide as to where they sit.

Hawthorn has only managed two wins from five games so far this season, but appeared to be back on track last week with a big win against West Coast down in Tasmania.

"They're a very good outfit the premiers," Ratten said from Visy Park on Wednesday. "They've played some good footy in the last few weeks and their confidence is starting to build.

“It will be a really good test for us as a group to say 'well we have taken a step forward' or 'we need to go back and work on these aspects of the game'.

"They'll have maybe three premiership players back and they’ve whacked us  the last few times [we've played]. The record's not flattering for us so we've put a fair bit of time into our week."

The Blues have not beaten Hawthorn since round six of the 2005 season and will need to put a lot of effort into stopping Coleman Medallist Lance Franklin who is yet to kick one of the big bags that propelled him to last year's goal-kicking award.

Ratten conceded that point, but added he has a potent forward of his own who is yet to hit his straps this season.

"I suppose they've got the same problem – when does Brendan [Fevola] explode?" he said of the forward who was stranded on 99 goals last year.

"We could have two rockets going off at either end on the weekend. Hopefully ours is going a bit further and higher. He's ready to go. If the conditions weren't wet last week he would have clunked a few more. He just looked in really good shape."

Full back Michael Jamison will likely get the job on Franklin after getting through his first match back from a shoulder injury unscathed.

Ratten will need to ponder at least one change to the side that defeated the Bulldogs with Chris Johnson ruled out with a thigh injury. Youngster Mitch Robinson and inside midfielder Richard Hadley are the top candidates for a recall after playing well in their first VFL games of the season.

"We've got a few options there," Ratten said. "The good thing is we've got players in form and maybe our depth is a little bit better, so when we go to players in our reserves we can really call on them to have an impact."

The Hawks' vaunted rolling zone has given plenty of opposition coaches nightmares with Ratten agreeing it was difficult to combat.

"It's a real balance between whether sometimes you run and carry at them or sometimes you actually try and kick into or over the zone," he said.

"The balance is really important and sometimes getting that balance is hard."