THE RETURN of Luke Hodge headlines selection news at Waverley, with Hawthorn fans breathing a welcome sigh of relief upon spying the Norm Smith Medallist's name on the team sheet on Thursday night.
The Hawks leaked 12 first-half goals against Adelaide last week and Hodge, should he prove his fitness in coming days, is likely to provide some much-needed experience in defence this Sunday as the reigning premiers prepare to tackle the Sydney Swans at the MCG.
The Hawks leaked 12 first-half goals against Adelaide last week and Hodge, should he prove his fitness in coming days, is likely to provide some much-needed experience in defence this Sunday as the reigning premiers prepare to tackle the Sydney Swans at the MCG.
The general of the Hawthorn backline in recent times, Hodge has missed three matches with an adductor strain.
Just last week coach Alastair Clarkson admitted the club was bracing itself to be without its star for at least another two or three games as he battled the complaint.
However, football manager Mark Evans said the classy left-footer had shown this week that he was ready to return to the field.
“It’s good to see his name back in the squad,” Evans told hawthornfc.com.au on Thursday night.
“He trained very, very well on Tuesday and it was always going to be how he pulled up after that training session.
“We were pleasantly surprised when he pulled up well out of that session and participated in another fairly lengthy session again today.”
Hodge still has another hurdle to clear before being passed fit to take on the Swans, with the club to monitor how he recovers from his heavy workload.
“If he pulls up well out of training he’ll play,” Evans said.
“We were quite happy for him to have a hard week of training … it was always going to be that if he could get through those sessions and recover well then he could play.”
Also coming into the Hawks’ 25-man squad are ruckman Brent Renouf and midfielder Travis Tuck.
Evans confirmed that youngsters Liam Shiels and Beau Muston would retain their places – something he said was “a good thing” for the club.
Hawthorn will be desperate to win to consolidate its place in the eight but to also exact some revenge for its disappointing round two loss to the Swans in Sydney.
And Evans said finding the right mix to take on Paul Roos’ men would be vital if they were to right the wrongs of that night at ANZ Stadium.
“We don’t have to finalise our line-up until tomorrow (Friday) because it’s a Sunday game, so we’ll take that opportunity to work out what the best line-up is for us,” he said.
Hawthorn
B: Guerra, Murphy, Brown
HB: Ellis, Hodge, Birchall
C: Muston, Mitchell, Shiels
HF: Bateman, Franklin, McGlynn
F: Rioli, Roughead, Osborne
FOLL: Taylor, Sewell, Lewis
I/C (from): Campbell, Dew, Morton, Renouf, Tuck, Whitecross, Williams
IN: Hodge, Renouf, Tuck
