HAWTHORN Assistant Coach Adam Simpson says the Hawks are ready for what is a dangerous Carlton side brimming with talent.

The two teams face off at Etihad Stadium tonight, in an important game for both sides – with Hawthorn looking to continue the momentum it built before the break, and the Blues aiming to bounce back after letting four points slip last weekend.

The Hawks respect the weapons at Carlton - like gun midfielders Chris Judd, Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs and goal kickers like Jarrad Waite, Eddie Betts and Jeff Garlett.

They’re a side with talent across all lines – even their much maligned defence, previously regarded as its biggest weakness has progressed because of the development of Michael Jamison and Lachie Henderson into reliable and consistent stoppers.

Despite currently sitting in seventh position on the ladder with six wins and five losses and having not yet beaten any of the sides sitting above it on the ladder, Simpson admits the Hawks need to be ready for a Carlton side looking to make amends for its capitulation against Essendon last week.

Carlton relinquished a 31 point lead midway through the third quarter against the Bombers last week to eventually be pipped at the post by 5 points.

“They would have been disappointed last week from the Friday night game against Essendon, but they did a lot of good things in that game and did a lot of things right,” Simpson told hawthornfc.com.au

“We’re not complacent that’s for sure.

“They’re a very dangerous side and we’ve prepared that way, we’re aware of their strengths.”

One of those strengths is its midfield, widely respected as one of the best in the competition.

The midfield at Carlton combines explosive pace from congestion with the ability to spread effectively into space to use the wings of the ground to move the ball quickly from end to end.

One area, in which it has improved though, is its hardness at the footy – now ranked third in the competition for contested possessions.

Simpson says the midfield that possesses weapons like Judd, Murphy and Gibbs is equalled by the strengthen present up forward in the form of Waite, Betts and Garlett.

He says the challenge on Friday night lies with the ability of the Hawthorn defence to quell in the impact of the dangerous forwards.

“It’ll be a good battle in the midfield, but I think their forward line too is pretty dangerous,” he said.

“They’re quite threatening with their smalls and obviously with Waite as well coming off a performance like he did on the weekend.

“They’ve always been pretty healthy in the midfield, but they seem now to have a more rounded balance of attacking options at the moment as well.”

He also says the Hawks will be ready for a fast start from the Blues who will be competiting with the added motivation of Judd’s 250^th game.

Speaking from experience, Simpson knows the affect milestone matches can have on a playing group.

He says it gives Carlton a clear focus heading into the match – they’ll be ready for the contest from the opening bounce.

“Milestone games, from my experience are a good way to give you a focus going into a game, and even the pre-match because quite often you use the player who’s going through the milestone as a bit of a focus,” he said.

“Once the game starts though, you sort of forget as a player because you just get on with playing the game.

“What it does do though, it guarantees you a good focus for the game so the actually preparations are a little bit, not easier but it’s pretty clear in what it is.

“What it does do, it gets you in a healthy state to play contested footy.”