LUKE Ball’s hamstring is still the talk of Moorabbin.

The will he-won’t he saga that at one point had a television news helicopter spying on St Kilda training has carried on for another week.

Ball injured his hamstring in the round-18 clash against Port Adelaide and was selected to play Collingwood last week before being withdrawal from the side at the last minute.

But he remains a chance to play in this week’s preliminary final against Hawthorn, despite missing the last six weeks through injury.

Ball trained with the main group on Tuesday and Saints coach Ross Lyon said his recovery was progressing well.

“He’s ticking the boxes. He’ll train tonight and Thursday. If he keeps ticking the boxes the medical team will make the call, the player will make the call and ultimately the match committee will make the call. So we’ve still got a little bit to go through,” Lyon said.

“When it happens, we’ll weigh it all up and make a decision. If it’s beneficial for the team we’ll play him and, if it’s not, we won’t play him.”

But when talking about Hawthorn’s lack of injuries, Lyon hinted that Ball would not play by grouping him with other players that have suffered season-ending injuries.

“We would love to have (Sean) Dempster, (Matt) Maguire and Ball available,” Lyon said.

The Saints are underdogs against an in-form Hawthorn side. The Hawks finished four wins clear of St Kilda after 22 home-and-away rounds and go into Saturday’s clash as clear favourites.

But Lyon said his side would back itself against the team many have picked as be the biggest threat to Geelong’s campaign for back-to-back premierships.

 “If we can get hold of the footy we have to deal with the zone a bit less,” Lyon said.

“Every team’s got a unique structure and systems you come up against - they’ve got a lot of talent – they’ve won a lot of games and we’ll prepare for it. If you bring intensity and effort, things will come.”

Lyon said the Saints were clear underdogs despite beating Hawthorn at Telstra Dome last time the two sides met in round 16.

“It’s a bit like two-up. The previous result doesn’t influence the next one, we’ll plan and prepare like we would any other team,” he said.

“It’s important and in our heads it’s round 25 so we’ll focus on what we need to do for us to play good football and we’ll acknowledge Hawthorn as a good team that have earned the right to be there as well.

“Hawthorn’s been cemented in the top four and clearly three teams bridged the rest.

“We feel like we’re bridging the gap by coming home strong, it’s an opportunity that we want to grab hold of. We get to the grid equal this weekend.

“It’s an equal prize for both clubs and those that can deliver for the longest period will take the prize.”

Meanwhile, Ball's midfield teammate Lenny Hayes, who experienced back spasms during the warm-up for last weekend's match against Collingwood, failed to join Tuesday's training session.

But Hayes said before the session he did not have any doubt that he would be able to play against the Hawks.

"It's just one of those things that is just a maintenance issue a little bit," he said.