Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has ruled himself out of any speculation about a shock AFL defection to Melbourne.

There has been some talk that the Demons should try to poach Clarkson for next season following Monday’s sacking of Mark Neeld.

But the 2008 premiership coach has his sights set firmly on more success with the Hawks.

“I have unfinished business here … I love everything about my association with Hawthorn,” Clarkson said before Thursday training.

It has been another good week for Hawthorn, who have won their last 10 games and are on top of the ladder.

Captain Luke Hodge was cleared of the collision that left Carlton captain Marc Murphy with a fractured cheekbone.

They then went to the tribunal and enjoyed a rare win when Hodge was also found not guilty of a collision with Lachie Henderson.

“I really liked the way that Leigh Matthews articulated it in the call of the game – there’s a difference between a bump and a collision,” Clarkson said.

“We were always of the view they were unfortunate collisions.

“With the bump, it’s a genuine attempt to make contact with another player and we certainly didn’t think in Hodgey’s case there was an intent there.

“Hopefully that clears it up for supporters and followers of the game, but there are plenty of grey areas.”

Had Hodge accepted a reprimand for the Henderson case, one of Hawthorn’s most important players would have had 93.75 demerit points – nearly a week’s suspension – against his name for the upcoming finals series.

“If you can go into any games of footy without that hanging over your head … is a handy thing,” Clarkson said.

Clarkson added livewire utility Cyril Rioli is not far from resuming.

Rioli has missed several weeks with a hamstring injury.

While he trained well at their VFL affiliates Box Hill earlier on Thursday, Clarkson said Rioli’s bad history with hamstring trouble means they will be extremely conservative with his return.

“He’s getting very close – if you saw him train this morning, you’d think ‘why aren’t you playing him this week?’,” Clarkson said.

The Hawks will host West Coast on Friday night at Etihad Stadium.

The Eagles are just outside the top eight and should regain several key players for the match.

“They’re a talented group … we saw that last year, and we’re expecting it’s going to be a pretty keen contest,” Clarkson said.

“They’re probably going to push out their best side on paper for the year, so we need to be ready for that.”