GEELONG midfield star Patrick Dangerfield has stopped short of declaring himself a certain starter for the Easter Monday clash against Hawthorn.

Dangerfield missed the Cats' opening-round win over Melbourne with a low-grade hamstring strain, but is expected to recover in time to take on the Hawks.

"It's all positive so far, to be honest," he said on Tuesday.

"I need to complete the main (training) sessions, run fast and kick long, just basically replicate everything you do in a game."

Dangerfield was disappointed to miss last Sunday's nail-biting win over the Demons, especially as it marked Gary Ablett's first game back after seven years on the Gold Coast and skipper Joel Selwood's 250th match.

"I felt pretty good, but just taking a risk having only completed one main session, it's just not worth it," he said.

"Especially at this time of year when there's so much footy to be played.

"The boys got the job done in the end, so it was a good decision."

The Cats smashed Hawthorn by 86 points in the corresponding Easter Monday fixture last year, but are expecting a much tougher challenge this time around.

"They've been really good around the ball which hasn't always been a trademark of theirs," said Dangerfield.

"You'd talk about how good they are as a kicking side, but they've been really good around the ball right throughout the JLT Series and round one."

Curbing the influence of Hawks' prime mover Tom Mitchell – who amassed a league-record 54 possessions in Hawthorn's opening-round win over Collingwood – will be a major focus.