Hartley has captained England to 19 wins in 20 Tests since taking over from Chris Robshaw following the 2015 Rugby World Cup, including the recent two-match tour of Argentina.
"[I'm an] aspiring England captain. If it is on anyone, it is on me to make an example. I need to be playing well. Try and score a hat-trick this weekend!"
While George was the No 1 choice for the Lions at hooker this summer, he has yet to start a Test for England, making 17 appearances from the bench and 14 of those to replace Hartley since Jones took charge.
"We have got a good working relationship and again I look forward to the challenge," Hartley said. "It is not about me and him. We are team-mates in another environment, so it works."
Northampton have won four out of five since that horror show at Twickenham, with results against Leicester Tigers and Bath turning around a season which appeared destined for trouble.
Hartley and the squad had a day's less training this week to go clay pigeon shooting, allowing for some extra rest, before a fixture that Hartley feels will offer a good indication of where Northampton now stand as a team, with an emphasis on physicality being stressed in training ahead of Sunday.
"Six weeks ago we got a hiding," Hartley acknowledges. "That was us being at one end of the scale and they at the other. It was a good thing for us, that first game, in a roundabout way.
"The sun was shining, the grass looked good and we were winning games and then you get a humbling defeat like that. To get another shot to test ourselves again against the European champions and league leaders domestically is a good opportunity for us to see where we are at.
"We went back to the drawing board. When everything is going well you can cut corners and have complacent preparations so we went back to basics.
"One thing we lacked in that game - and you cannot lack in a game of rugby - is physicality. You can't take to the pitch if you are not going to be physical because you are on the back foot all day and it is a very difficult game to be in when you are not winning collisions."