Matthew Knights has come out in support of Alastair Clarkson saying he doesn’t believe the Hawthorn coach dropped players back to stop Carlton’s Brendan Fevola from kicking his 100th goal.

Speaking on 3 mobile’s ‘Footy Focus’, Knights said he believes Jarryd Roughead went down back by himself and was only there for 30-40 seconds.

Knights also said Hawthorn supporters were lucky to have Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin to enjoy at their club.

“Franklin deserved his 100th goal and he is still untapped. He has endurance, speed and can kick it 60m and if he can straighten that leg up and start kicking 8.2 instead of say 4.6 I think Hawthorn people will be very lucky to be able to watch him,” he said.

Knights also said the retirement of Leigh Matthews was a blow for the AFL.

Essendon assistant coach, Ashley Prescott, will replace Knights on ‘Footy Focus’ for the finals while the coach is on holidays and work related travel.