Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson is adamant: he hasn’t spent more time on preparing for Lance Franklin than any other Sydney player in Saturday’s AFL grand final.

But Clarkson is only too aware of the havoc Franklin can cause in the MCG premiership decider.

“We know him pretty well so we’ll put some attention into him,” Clarkson says of the former Hawthorn hero.

“We know he can tear games apart if he’s not curtailed in some sort of manner.

“But it won’t be at the expense of the other 21 players for Sydney.”

Franklin won a premiership with the Hawks last year and then shocked the club by joining Sydney on an unprecedented nine-year, $10 million deal.

Hawks captain Luke Hodge and others at the Melbourne club, including Josh Gibson, his likely opponent on Saturday, remain close friends with Franklin.

But Hodge cautioned Hawthorn about sledging their ex-teammate, knowing it could provide further motivation for the star forward.

“We have seen first-hand with Bud (Franklin) that certain things can motivate him,” Hodge said.

“We understand Bud pretty well. If things get said in a game, it’s all in the spirit. But you know Bud’s going to start yapping as well at some stage.”

Franklin looms as the trump card for the Swans, who are seeking their second premiership in three seasons after downing Hawthorn in the 2012 grand final.

And while the Hawks are chasing consecutive premierships, a feat not achieved since Brisbane’s three in a row in 2001-03, Clarkson said they aren’t driven by the rare achievement.

“We haven’t really spoken too much about back-to-back throughout the course of the year,” Clarkson said.

“It has only been in more recent times you perhaps understand how enormous it would be for our footy club.

“The effort in the current era to win back-to-back premierships is very, very difficult.

“You look at the enormity of that challenge. But really it has been no motivation or inspiration to our playing group at all.”