Sewell gathered 29 possessions and laid four tackles in a near best-afield display, showing the kind of leadership that has come to be expected of him.

The 30-year-old missed the first eight games of the season because of a troublesome hamstring injury, with his return further delayed by sciatic nerve problems.

A few down weeks since his return were highlighted during the week, and Sewell's response on Friday night earned plaudits from stand-in coach Brendon Bolton. 

"What we do need to understand is that he was challenged," Bolton said.

"We just thought he wasn't winning enough ball. He's a ball winner and a ball hunter … and here's another example of a leader responding."

Asked whether Sewell commanded a spot in Hawthorn's first-choice line-up when the club regains some key personnel from injury, including Sam Mitchell, Bolton responded: "His (Sewell) best footy is in our best 22."

It was not an easy night for the Hawks, who had to stave off a dogged third-quarter challenge from the Blues and fell behind midway through the term.

Hawthorn lost out in the contested ball count (125-149) and it was smashed in the contested marking stakes (6-22), as the likes of Levi Casboult and Jarrad Waite threatened to take the game away.

"That was a real battle, for the third quarter in particular," Bolton said.

"We were under a fair bit of heat there. But it was terrific that our guys stood up, showed resilience. They're battle-hardened professionals some of our players, and it was a really good result

"No doubt about it, it was a challenge."

The Blues did a good job of separating the Hawks' defenders, not allowing them to come third-man in over the top as they typically do when playing at their best.

"They took some really strong contested marks. We'll review that and review our collective defence," Bolton said.

The run of Isaac Smith and, in particular, Bradley Hill broke the game open for the Hawks in the final term.

Hill rivalled Sewell for best on ground honours with 21 hard-running possessions and seven inside 50s.

"I thought Bradley Hill and Isaac Smith's run was superb. That can wear down opponents and they got on top a little bit at the end," Bolton said.

Despite losing sharpshooter Jack Gunston prior to the match with a quad injury, the Hawks found other avenues to goal and ended the night with 12 individual goal-kickers.

Gunston is expected back for next week's clash against Collingwood , while the Hawks will "drip feed" some of their key players back into the side in the next few weeks, including Mitchell, Ben McEvoy, Ben Stratton and Brian Lake.