Hawthorn AFL coach Alastair Clarkson has defended the dumping of stalwart Brad Sewell as he prepares to face Port Adelaide without superstar Lance Franklin.

Franklin wasn’t on Hawthorn’s match-eve flight to Adelaide on Friday.

“He didn’t travel and we’re giving him 24 hours to prove his fitness,” a club spokesperson told the afl.com.au website.

The Hawks wouldn’t reveal Franklin’s injury but he appears long odds to play in Saturday’s match against Port at AAMI Stadium.

Sewell will also be absent after being dropped by coach Clarkson.

“He just hasn’t been playing well enough,” Clarkson told reporters on Friday at Melbourne Airport.

“We have got high standards with the way that we play and Sewelly has been a little bit scratchy for the last five or six weeks.

“We have got guys underneath who are challenging for positions and we just can’t keep them hanging on for guys who haven’t been performing to the level we know that they can.”

Defender Brent Guerra replaced Sewell, who was disappointed at being axed, Clarkson said.

“But he’s a leader of our club. He knows his form hasn’t been to the level that he’s used to playing for a long period of time now,” he said.

Given the expected foul weather, Clarkson predicted a “real tug of war” against Port, who are seeking to keep their eighth spot on the ladder.

The Power, one win ahead of ninth-placed West Coast, will miss suspended utility Justin Westhoff while Jack Hombsch was omitted, with John Butcher and Matt Thomas earning recalls.

Tall forward Butcher might struggle in the wet but Port assistant coach Matthew Nicks made no secret of his club’s desire for rain against the Hawks, who are the highest-scoring team in the league.

“Against a side like Hawthorn, every side would like it to bucket down and be under water because they are such a skilful side,” Nicks told reporters in Adelaide on Friday.

“We would love it to be wet.

“We think this year we have really lifted our contested game. They’re a very good contested side.

“We know it’s going to be a tough one for us. But if we had the choice between super dry and wet, well, no doubt we would love to play them in the bog.”