BIG-NAME Hawthorn recruit Ben McEvoy has been granted a reprieve from the VFL, but Bradley Hill has not come up from a knee injury and won't take on the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.
McEvoy has forced his way back after three games for Box Hill, with David Hale feeling Alastair Clarkson's wrath for a below-par effort in last Friday's 20-point loss to North Melbourne.
Hale only managed four disposals and one mark against the Roos, opening the door for McEvoy to play his first AFL game since round 10 against Port Adelaide.
"'Haley's' not going to front this week," Clarkson told reporters at Melbourne Airport on Thursday.
"(McEvoy) hasn't played since the last time we came to Adelaide which was six or seven weeks ago so he'll get a chance and hopefully he performs well.
"He had two or three games out with an injury for a start and (Jonathon) Ceglar and Hale were playing well enough that he couldn't force his way straight back into the side and he needed to get some match fitness as well."
Speedy wingman Hill was a late withdrawal from the loss to the Kangaroos with knee soreness and has failed in his bid to take on the Crows.
Hill is battling iliotibial band friction syndrome, according to leading sports medico Dr Peter Larkins.
"'Hilly's' not quite right, so he's nearly there but we've got a bye next week," Clarkson said.
"Sometimes those knee concerns they just need a little bit of rest. We're fortunate we've got a bye next week so he can get himself right and if all goes well he'll be available for the Sydney game after the break."
Luckless midfielder Alex Woodward was on the plane to Adelaide and could finally make his debut after two knee reconstructions.
"We'll wait and see. We've got a few guys we need to come over. We've obviously got (Brian) Lake suspended and 'Sewelly' (Brad Sewell) injured, so we've brought a fair squad over with us," Clarkson said.
"From all reports its been reasonably wet over there, so we need to make a call on what the conditions will be like and we'll make a judgement from there."
Lake's four-week suspension will upset the balance of Hawthorn's defence against Adelaide's potent attack led by Taylor Walker, James Podsiadly and Josh Jenkins, with Eddie Betts scooting around at ground level.
That quartet has combined for 94 goals this season.
"They've got a lot of good parts about their game. Their forward structure and their potency up there has been one of the things that has been really good for them," Clarkson said.
"But their back-end rebound and the strength of their midfield - particularly with (Sam) Jacobs, (Patrick) Dangerfield and (Scott) Thompson - they've been in outstanding form in recent times.
"There's a lot of things about the Adelaide side that you just can't focus on one or two things, we need to bring a much better and consistent effort than we did last week.
"I think we've had 'Lakey' for four, maybe five, games for the season and we're in round 17 and we've won 11 games, so it's not like we can't win games of footy without him.
"At the minute it looks like we're battling a bit because we had a really poor performance last week, but it will turn very quickly. I've got full faith in this group."
The Hawks sit second on the ladder at 11-4, with the Crows (8-7) eyeing off a spot in the eight.
