Hawthorn have continued their perfect start to the season with a hard-fought 20-point win over an improved Carlton side on Thursday night.

Little separated the two sides for much of the night, but it was the Hawks who ran away in the final quarter to make it three wins from three matches.

The Blues were far better than last week when they suffered a shock loss to Richmond and performed admirably despite getting basically nothing from their two Coleman medallists up forward.

Harry McKay was a shock withdrawal before the match through illness, but that was meant to be offset by the return of Charlie Curnow.

Curnow missed a chunk of pre-season training after undergoing knee and ankle surgery, and was on the sidelines for last week’s season-opening loss to the Tigers.

While he was passed fit to play, questions will be asked of the decision to select him.

The superstar forward looked under done and failed to register a single possession in the first quarter, matched up on new Hawk Josh Battle.

He needed heavy work from the physios at the quarter-time break and even had some pickle juice, which is used to treat cramps, but rarely comes out that early in the game.

“Usually the pickle juice comes out in the second half but it was already out at quarter-time,” 7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary said at the break.

He had two kicks in the second term and another in the third term, but failed to hit the scoreboard.

The last quarter was much of the same as Battle won a pair of crucial one-on-one contests and Curnow failing to get near it.

“Never seen Curnow beaten as badly as this. Yes, the preparation is not ideal but Battle has been unbelievable. An old-fashioned bath,” Channel 7 commentator Kane Cornes said.

“I’ll have to ask the question, was he right to go? Was he right to play?”

He finished the game with just four kicks and one handball in one of the worst performances of his career.

But much of the credit should go to Battle, who was one of the best players on the ground with 21 touches to go with his domination of Curnow.

Coach Michael Voss was quick to defend Curnow in his post-match media conference.

“He competed really well ... obviously it is his first game coming back in, and our commentary is always around Charlie being able to compete forward of the ball, and I think it is up to you to decide what you want to value in Charlie,” Voss said.

“If he kicks goals, we have only got one focal point and if he doesn’t kick goals, then how come he could not influence the game.

“I will let you guys decide which way to go without but for us, is a valuable teammate and we love him in the team and he gave us a focal point wherehe needed to and competed hard and that is all I am asking as a coach.”

Meanwhile, Hawthorn have recorded their best start to a season since 2014 and surged into premiership favouritism.

Mabior Chol slotted three goals in an important display up forward on a night when showers in Melbourne made conditions slippery.

Hawthorn suffered a blow in the second quarter when half-forward Connor Macdonald (ankle) had to be subbed out, replaced by veteran triple premiership player Jack Gunston.

But Gunston, in his first game of the season, slotted two crucial goals during the third quarter in a vital contribution.

Jai Newcombe (32 possessions) and Will Day (26) were outstanding in the midfield for the Hawks.

Lewis Young, who replaced McKay in the starting 22, had little impact as he was used down back and in the ruck.

Dual Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps, who again spent an eye-catching amount of time in the ruck, was the Blues’ best along with Tom De Koning.

When De Koning was on the ground, Carlton almost always looked the better team, but Hawthorn dominated when he had to rest and got stuck on the bench for extended periods numerous times.

Carlton face a huge challenge in round three when they play the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium, while Hawthorn host GWS in Launceston.

- With AAP