FORMER Essendon skipper Zach Merrett has gone from the top of Hawthorn's trade wishlist to being "the enemy" as the clubs prepare to do battle in round one.

Hawks coach Sam Mitchell worked hard to lure the star midfielder to his club during last year's trade period, only for the Bombers to reject the final offer and hold Merrett to his contract.

That leaves the 30-year-old in the spotlight in front of an expected crowd of 90,000 on Friday night at the MCG.

"He plays for them right now, so he's the enemy," Mitchell said, adding that trying to sign Merrett again this year was the furthest thing from his mind.

Asked whether the three-time All-Australian could expect any special attention given the recent history, Mitchell said he didn't want to get into any specifics about how his side would set up for the Bombers.

"They're hard to scout because we haven't played a lot of footy, and he (Merrett) has played a couple of different roles," Mitchell said after training on Wednesday.

"He's one of a pretty powerful midfield when they're up and going, their rucks causing a lot of trouble in the centre bounce in particular, so there's some challenges around that ... so we've got some challenges on our hands.''

Left out of Opening Round action, the Bombers are looking to improve on a disappointing 15th-place finish last season, while the Hawks bowed out in the preliminary final.

But Mitchell said the Hawks had plenty they needed to focus on beyond Merrett after starting the season with a 27-point loss to Greater Western Sydney.

"If you look at the actual football, we've got some work to do and our players understand that what we put up last week is not going to get it done,'' he said.

"I don't think any Hawthorn player went to that game and was proud of the way we played.

"Hawthorn fans in general, this is a game that they mark in the calendar as one they want to win, and we understand."

The Hawks' midfield was outclassed by the Giants, although Mitchell believed there was work to do across the board.

"We're still a work in progress, I mean Opening Round, I don't think anyone has every answer to everything,'' he said.

"We gave up 120-something points as well, so I wouldn't say defensively we were at our absolute best either."