The Hawks found themselves trailing by 17 points on two occasions in the third quarter, but put in a nine goal to five second half to snatch victory.
It's the club's 10th win in a row, and Clarkson has revealed the coaches are just as desperate for the four points as the players.
"We're (the coaches) competitive beasts," Clarkson said.
"When you put 22 players out there, they are competitive too.
"They want to win every week, and we're certainly not going to hold them back from having that will to win. If that continues to mean that we win games of footy, that's terrific."
Clarkson shrugged off suggestions the Hawks need to lose a game soon.
"We gave it our best shot in the first half this week," he said.
Lance Franklin came off second-best after a marking contest, but played on, finishing with four goals, including two in the final term when the Hawks finally kicked clear.
"You've got the ball coming at full speed and an opposition defender who is pretty keen to smack it … sometimes your hands are going to get in the road," Clarkson said.
"He just a got a bit of a jar, but he'll be OK, I'm sure."
Franklin’s forward partner Jarryd Roughead also finished with four goals, while Jack Gunston chimed in with three.
Jacqui Reed is a reporter with AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @JacquiReedAFL
