MELBOURNE captain Brad Green believes Hawthorn is a legitimate premiership contender.

The Demons led by 19 points at half-time at the MCG on Sunday but were dominated by the Hawks in the second half, eventually losing by 45.

"We haven't played the Pies yet, but the way they (Hawthorn) play their football and the way they go about it, they're certainly up with the best sides in the comp," Green said on Monday.

"They're going for a premiership and they're tough to beat.

"They've got superstars all over the board, but we were there with them. We were matching it with them in the first half and that's something we've got to take out of it."

The final margin could have been even greater had the 2008 premiers been more accurate in front of goal.

The Hawks went inside attacking 50 more than twice as often as Melbourne and had 42 scoring shots to 17, but blew several chances, finishing with 16.26.

"We were probably lucky to be in at half-time and to go in with a two or three goal lead was probably more their undoing with their goal-kicking than our good play," Green admitted.

"But we did have some good patches in that first half, and the second half was really disappointing."

Hawthorn piled on eight goals to one in the third term, and Green said his young team must learn to stem the flow when an opponent gets a run-on.

"As a side, we're developing and looking to keep on improving," he said.

"That's where we've got to stop sides from getting a momentum switch and get control of the game back our way."

Despite the heavy defeat, Green is confident the Demons can produce an improved effort as they seek their first win for the season against the Brisbane Lions on Sunday.

"The performance yesterday wasn't good enough, and the performance against Brisbane will certainly be one where everyone's going to be watching us to make a stand, and see where we are as a club and how we're going to respond," he said.

The skipper expects Colin Garland to play this week despite jarring his knee, and reported that fellow defender James Frawley pulled up well in his first game of the year after a pre-season pectoral injury.

Green also said classy midfielder Cale Morton is available for selection having recovered from a ruptured finger tendon, while Tom Scully will start running on his injured knee this week but is still a couple of weeks from resuming.