The end of the era has come swiftly and dramatically following last year's straight sets finals exit, with the Hawks finding themselves at the bottom of the ladder ahead of a date with former captain Sam Mitchell's West Coast next Sunday at the MCG.

Clarkson had called for consistency ahead of the Hawks' game against Gold Coast in round three, and in a sense he got it. But 86-point defeats two weeks in a row were not what the four-time premiership coach had in mind. Having been belted by the Suns, the Hawks were again thumped on Monday, losing by more than 14 goals to traditional rivals Geelong at the MCG. It means the Hawks have slumped to an 0-4 start for the first time for 1998. It is also the first time they have lost consecutive games by more than 80 points since 1994, while Monday's loss was their equal-biggest against the Cats since 1937.

Lamenting his side's lack of skill against Geelong, Clarkson insisted he was up for the fight in rectifying the situation. "We know that these guys have got the quality to produce good football. But right at the present time, the cohesion among our group is nowhere near as strong as it should be," Clarkson said.

"Some of it's to do with the coaching, some of it's to do with the playing, but we share the responsibility and try to dig ourselves out of this hole that we're in."

While Clarkson wouldn't say whether it was the biggest challenge of his coaching career, he conceded that it was a low point. "This is the most significant down that we've had for a long time as a footy club," he said.

However he said he retained confidence in the side. "I don't know whether that's going to come next week, or in three weeks. I'm hoping like hell it's not the whole season with this sort of rubbish we're playing at the minute," he said.

"But what we do know is it's going to be hard to keep us down for a long, long period of time."

Clarkson said he expected recruit Jaeger O'Meara to face the Eagles after missing the Cats clash with a knee issue, while Ty Vickery - who was a late withdrawal on Monday with back soreness - is also likely to be available.

Geelong coach Chris Scott says Patrick Dangerfield has escaped serious injury and the Geelong coach even admitted to feeling sympathy for the Hawks.

Dangerfield was hurt in the first term when he took a knee to the ribs in marking contest with Hawks skipper Jarryd Roughead.

He went off for treatment and would return, finishing with 27 touches, but he lacked his typical dash.

Scott said Dangerfield was not in doubt for Sunday's clash against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.

"He looked really, really sore obviously but the feedback we got was surprisingly positive. No doubt he was limited but if there was any suggestion he could be in doubt for next week, we wouldn't have had him on the field," he said.

While the Cats are unbeaten and on top of the ladder, they do have concerns after Sam Menegola was reported for a dangerous tackle on Luke Hodge in the third term and James Parsons was booked in the final quarter for an elbow to the head of the former Hawks skipper.

"Menegola was a tackle - I wouldn't have thought that was too serious. The other one I haven't seen - that was Parsons," Scott said.

The Cats were brilliantly led by Steve Motlop (33 disposals) and Mitch Duncan (32) while Tom Hawkins booted four goals, including two in a stunning final term when the Cats drilled 11 straight.

Scott was part of the grand Brisbane Lions' era which crumbled in 2005, having won three-straight flags and reached the 2004 grand final.

His immediate focus at three quarter-time was on how to curb the Hawks but, post match, he understood what his unbeaten team had just completed, prompting him to declare "some sympathy" for his club's greatest modern rival.