Franklin contract uncertainty to unsettle Hawks, says Matthew Scarlett The Hawks have been bolstered by the return of superstars Cyril Rioli, second left, and Lance Franklin, centre, who both trained strongly yesterday. GEELONG great Matthew Scarlett yesterday claimed Hawthorn could be unsettled in its preliminary final against the Cats due to uncertainty surrounding Lance Franklin's contractual situation. In a clear sign of the bond that exists between Geelong's current hopefuls and its recently retired premiership heroes, another former star in Cam Mooney added to the external pressure on Hawthorn by declaring it will have underachieved if it does not win this season's flag. Scarlett, who retired at the end of last season, also claimed that his former side handled pressure situations better than the premiership favourites. "No doubt Hawthorn are playing better football and are in better form than Geelong, but I don't really think that it counts for much," he said. There is going to be a huge amount of pressure and I think that Geelong will be able to handle that pressure a bit better than Hawthorn and they've proved over the past few years that they enjoy playing the Hawks and they will definitely be up for it. He likened the Franklin saga to that of his former teammate Gary Ablett, who accepted a lucrative offer from the Gold Coast at the completion of 2010. The six-time All Australian said Geelong's premiership hopes were harmed by the uncertainty surrounding Ablett that year and raised the prospect Hawthorn will be affected by Franklin's refusal to commit to the club in lieu of an offer from Greater Western Sydney that would make him the league's highest paid offer. You do get sick of talking about it. Going down the street every day, people were asking if Gaz was going or staying and we basically had no idea, so it was a bit of a touchy subject around the club," he said. I know we'd have a few jokes to Gaz ... but I think if you want to win a premiership, you need all those things put aside and you need absolutely no distractions going into these sort of games. I am sure it has caused a little bit of angst among the team. As expected, Hawthorn was last night bolstered by the return of Franklin from suspension and Cyril Rioli from injury. That pair replaced Matt Spangher and Jed Anderson, who were the unlucky casualties from the team that thumped Sydney a fortnight ago. Unable to select Paul Chapman, who has a formidable record against Hawthorn, due to suspension, the Cats also dropped youngster Taylor Hunt. Josh Caddy, who missed the semi-final win over Port Adelaide through injury, returns alongside Jordan Murdoch, who starred in Geelong's round 15 defeat of Hawthorn by kicking three goals. Shane Kersten, Trent West and Hunt have been named as emergencies should a late change be needed. The return of Franklin adds intrigue to how Hawthorn will line up. There is a school of thought that the side performs better when not solely focused on trying to pinpoint the star in its forward 50m arc. Geelong defender Tom Lonergan has also performed well on Franklin in recent outings, holding him to two goals in round 1 and one goal in round 15. It prompted Scarlett to say Hawthorn should consider playing Franklin further up the field. It will be interesting to see if Hawthorn tries to throw him up the ground a bit. I think they have to change a few things up if they want to beat them," he told radio station SEN. It hasn't worked having him deep. Tommy Lonergan has had his measure so whether they try something different or back their systems in ... it will be interesting to see. Hawthorn will start favourites but Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said his side could not afford to give Geelong any break. Preliminary finals are like the quarter-finals and semi-finals of (tennis) Grand Slams. They're usually crackers of games," he said. No one goes into a preliminary final thinking they've got it made and they're going to just roll through.