FORMER Port Adelaide premiership player Stuart Dew could miss up to four weeks after badly tearing his hamstring in Hawthorn's gutsy 15-point win over Fremantle at Subiaco Oval last night.

Dew, who is still overweight despite shedding many kilograms to get himself back into AFL condition after a brief retirement, clutched at his left hamstring after delivering a trademark kick deep into attack in the final quarter.

"It is going to be more than a week," a rueful Alastair Clarkson told reporters after the game.

"I don't know whether it is going to be two, four or six weeks. He will be diagnosed in the next 48 hours and hopefully he will be back sooner rather than later."

Clarkson was full of praise for his team, which withstood a Fremantle rally in the third quarter when they closed to within a goal, to kick the first four goals of the final quarter and ice the game. He was particularly pleased with the efforts of Travis Tuck (25 touches and a goal) and Xavier Ellis (22 touches).

"Fremantle really ran hard in that third quarter and we had some tired and injured blokes," he said. "To withstand that challenge and to go on and win the game was really pleasing."

Counterpart Mark Harvey started his coaching career with four wins and three losses at the tail end of last year but is feeling the heat early this season with losses to top-four fancies Hawthorn and Collingwood.

He was philosophical about the club's 0-2 start in the lead up to a western derby next week.

"We haven't been wiped off the park and we have played two top-four teams,"

he said. "Maybe that is where we are at at the moment, two, three or four goals away from it."

He was pleased with the debut of Rhys Palmer (22 possessions and a goal) but frustrated by another bleak night for Chris Tarrant, who had just seven possessions and was goalless again.

"We need him to stand up. There was limited supply tonight, that didn't make his job any easier."