HAWTHORN star Sam Mitchell has labelled his form in the opening rounds "scratchy", with the Hawks searching for improvement after a 2-2 start to the season.
Mitchell was held to 18 possessions by Port Adelaide tagger Kane Cornes last Saturday night, his lowest tally in a full match since his meeting with Fremantle's Ryan Crowley in the 2013 Grand Final.
The four-time club champion is averaging 22 possessions, down from 28 in 2014, but said he wasn't receiving any more attention from taggers than in previous seasons.
"I didn't play too well on the weekend, but that's the ebbs and flows of footy. I'd like to be playing better," Mitchell said on Wednesday.
"We need to find some consistency as a group, and probably myself is in the same boat.
"I was not great in the first game against Geelong, and then I missed a game … so [my form is] a bit like the team, a bit up and down."
The Hawks will be hoping to avoid their first 2-3 start to the season since 2012 when they take on North Melbourne on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium.
The team has made slow starts in each of its two losses, falling 51 points behind Port at half time last Saturday, and Mitchell said that would be addressed on the track this week.
"We need to have a look at the way we structure the early part of the game," he said.
"And just our intent and attitude as a playing group. You can't expect to get 50-odd points down against a side like Port Adelaide and come back.
"Some parts of our game have improved, but certainly some aspects of our game have dropped off at the moment and we're not as sharp as we'd like to be."
A spate of injuries in the backline could make the Hawks' task more difficult this week, with Brian Lake (knee) joining James Frawley (pectoral), Matt Spangher (hamstring) and Kaiden Brand (shoulder) on the sidelines.
After turning his back on trade opportunities at the end of last year, Ryan Schoenmakers shapes as the most likely inclusion to replace Lake.
Mitchell said it wasn't ideal to be calling on depth so early in the season, but he was confident the club had enough talent in reserve.
"I look over at Adam Simpson and West Coast and they've been doing the same thing," he said.
"The way (Jeremy) McGovern's gone about the start of his season, he's been outstanding because of the opportunity he's been given.
"Hopefully the same thing will happen for the Hawks."
