CHANGKUOTH Jiath has put his hand up to play in Friday night's elimination final against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG, creating a good selection headache for Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell and the match committee inside Waverley Park.
The 25-year-old missed the final three games of the home and away season due to calf tightness, opening the door for wingman Harry Morrison to stake a claim for the spot after a dominant season in the VFL.
Jiath made a low-key return in Box Hill's elimination final loss to Williamstown, finishing with eight touches, but with star midfielder Will Day ruled out, the Hawks could use an injection of pace into the midfield.
After missing the first nine rounds of the season due to hamstring and quad strains, Jiath played 11 straight games through the middle of winter to earn a three-year contract extension, following a nightmare injury run that resulted in a trip to a soft tissue specialist in Qatar at the start of the year.
Mitchell said it was crucial Jiath proved he was over the calf issues in the VFL on the weekend, but stopped short of declaring the Gippsland Power product had booked a spot for his first finals appearance.
"We will have a full match committee this afternoon and finalise the team today. There are still a couple of question marks. Maybe 20 players are locked in and I think there are three we're still considering. A little bit might play into the weather, might play into some match-ups, a little bit of training, still a couple of decisions to make, but for the most part its done," Mitchell said at Waverley Park.
"It was really important that he [Jiath] played. I think he wouldn't have played for over a month now if he hadn't of played in that game, so it was important he got the run. He got through the game physically and is available for selection, so he is one of the guys who we are making a decision about what's the best way to win this game.
"Years gone by you get to the end of the year and you think what's the best development for us, who needs this game? What can we do to develop? Obviously this is purely to beat this team. Who can play our system the best? Who can help us beat the Bulldogs the best? 'CJ' has given himself a chance, he has put his hand up for selection.
Finn Maginness replaced Day for the round 24 trip to Launceston, where the midfielder gathered 19 touches in the 124-point win at University of Tasmania Stadium.
The 23-year-old then starred for Box Hill on Saturday, like he has done for much of 2024, amassing a game-high 31 disposals, nine clearances and seven tackles against the Seagulls.
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Hawthorn made the decision to rule Day out on Saturday to remove the distraction around the South Australian's availability after it became apparent he wouldn’t be fit to face Luke Beveridge's side.
Day hasn't played since partially dislocating his collarbone against Richmond in round 23 and is no guarantee to be available next weekend if the Hawks win their first final since the 2015 Grand Final.
"Unsure (if Day will be available next weekend). We will try and make a decision reasonably quickly. We don't need the cloak and dagger stuff, which we avoided for this game," Mitchell said.
"We knew he wasn't going to be available, so we let you guys know. Just for him as much as anyone so he didn't keep getting asked about it all the time. He certainly hasn't been ruled out for anything beyond this week."
Seven-time Melbourne Cup winning owner Lloyd Williams was an interested onlooker at Waverley Park on Wednesday morning, spending time with Hawthorn CEO Ash Klein and Mitchell ahead of Hawthorn's first final since 2018.
