COLLINGWOOD coach Mick Malthouse won't subscribe to the notion that the Pies will be dictated by Hawthorn's terms in their clash at the MCG on Saturday.

The Hawks, undefeated after six rounds, have been hailed for their commitment to a game plan that has proven difficult to counter in the opening rounds.

Malthouse said Hawthorn was a very good and disciplined side, similar to those that had served the club in eras past.

"I think they are a very good side that has a distinctive type of style and I would say, without being Alastair Clarkson, they stick to that pretty much throughout the game, regardless of who they play and regardless of whatever the score-line may be," he said on Friday.

"It's almost a Hawthornism, if that's a word. You look at John Kennedy, Allan Jeans, David Parkin, blokes that have coached Hawthorn successfully have had a distinctive style of game. The players have generally been very disciplined and played to the latter. They are predictable but, I think as John Kennedy had said, 'We know what we're doing and the other side's got to beat us.'

"It's almost like any good side going around. I don't think it's only Hawthorn. Adelaide are very structured and play to their coach's demand, Geelong – going from ninth to a premiership – zeroed in on what they wanted to do and stayed rigid to it. I think any good side really, the hallmark of them is being disciplined."

However, Malthouse was equally strong in his suggestions that Collingwood shouldn't be discounted.

"Is it going to be played on Hawthorn's terms? Why would it be played on Hawthorn's terms?" he asked.

"We have played some pretty good football sides in the last 18 months or so and one of their predictabilities is that they will keep coming at you and they will keep their game plan generally intact. It's not that they play it on their terms, that's the way they play.

"It may well be on their terms and we may come away with a good going-over and find out that we are not good enough in those circumstances. On the other side of the coin, it could well be that we do play our style of game and make them change theirs."

Collingwood has had a seven-day break ahead of Saturday's clash and would be buoyed by its 73-point win over Essendon on Anzac Day.

In contrast, Hawthorn had a gritty 12-point win over Richmond on Sunday, a match in the balance for most of the afternoon.

It may have been different if star Hawks forward Lance Franklin had kicked straighter than his 1.7. And Malthouse is as prepared as he can be for a return to form for the competition's most damaging forward.

"He's a sensational player," he said of Franklin.

"I think I might have mentioned last year to put him the All-Australian side.

“Maybe I was a little bit premature, I don't think so.

"He's just one out of the box, one of those players that comes along every now and again and does remarkable things very regularly. That's what makes him such a dangerous player."

Malthouse quipped that "outside of a sledgehammer" and "outside of double-teaming", it would be difficult to stop Franklin.

"We'll just have to give one of our boys the opportunity and see how they go," he said.

Collingwood will welcome the return of its own key forward Anthony Rocca, who has been hampered by general soreness.

Questioned whether he had considered leaving Rocca out after kicking 23 goals against the Bombers, Malthouse said: "Every week's a different week."

"He's our leading key forward. It's like bringing Scott Burns in. Do we not bring Scott Burns in because we won last week? I don't go for that.

"I'd rather look at our side and say, 'This is the side we're playing this week, which is Hawthorn. What's our best 22 players to put on the ground?”