HAWTHORN captain James Sicily is expected to return for Saturday's clash against Fremantle, but small forward Jack Ginnivan is set to miss a second week with a fractured leg.
Sicily missed the 51-point loss to Geelong at GMHBA Stadium after dislocating his shoulder against West Coast in round 16, but the All-Australian defender trained fully on Thursday to put his hand up to face the Dockers in Launceston.
The Peter Crimmins medallist was put through a fitness test with development coach Arryn Siposs at Waverley Park midway through training, before testing his shoulder out in some marking contests with Lloyd Meek at the end of the session.
Ginnivan didn't appear on the track and trained indoors after suffering a hairline crack in his fibula in the win over the Eagles.
Father-son recruit Calsher Dear trained fully after missing last weekend due to rib soreness and is expected to return at University of Tasmania Stadium.
Speaking ahead of training on Thursday, Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell said the Hawks were confident Sicily would be available this weekend, but wouldn't take any risks with the star defender.
"I'll trust the physios and the doctors, if they say he [Sicily] is available then he'll play, if they say he's not, then he won't," Mitchell said.
"A lot of his (availability) is around confidence and static strength. They do these boring little tests that look like nothing. It gives you a measure of the stability of the shoulder."
Hawthorn will need to replace Mitch Lewis after the key forward ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in his first game back from a knee cartilage issue last weekend.
The 25-year-old will undergo a knee reconstruction next week and faces up to 12 months on the sidelines, but the co vice-captain has been in at the club this week, attending meetings and trying to help the Hawks prepare to beat Fremantle for the first time since 2019.
Gun defender Blake Hardwick trained as a forward on Thursday and could play in attack against the Dockers, while Dear should return to bolster the attack. Mid-season recruit Jasper Scaife has been discussed this week, but left training early after a knock.
"Mitch is one of those guys that was always in our planning. To have him out now for an extended period has caused us a challenge in match committee," Mitchell said.
"Obviously there's Calsher, we brought in 'Scaifey' in the mid-season period and he's a chance at the right time, whether that's this week or the coming weeks and the other one is Max Ramsden, who has been really strong. I think we have some options. We can go a bit smaller, too."
After winning five straight games for the first time since 2018 and seven of eight, Hawthorn was smashed in almost every key indicator to be given a rude shock by Chris Scott's side down the highway.
"It shouldn't be the case, but you learn more from your losses than your wins. It shouldn't be like that, it should be the same," he said.
"We review every game closely, but with this one we looked at some areas where we went away from some things that we would usually pride ourselves on.
"Geelong are a really quality side and it doesn't get any easier. Freo are third on the ladder in fantastic form, won the last three, they are a side that has caused us trouble in the past.
"The good thing about our game is you get to play straight away a week later and see if you can make improvements with what you're doing."
The Hawks start round 18 a game outside the top eight in 13th, fighting for a spot in September with Collingwood, Melbourne, the Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast.
