HAWTHORN is moving towards an immediate recall for Jaeger O’Meara and has declared him in the mix to play against Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night. 

O’Meara played 76 minutes in his comeback game in the VFL last weekend and dominated, with 29 possessions, seven clearances, six tackles and three goals.

The Hawks had indicated that he would play at least another week in the VFL, but that changed on Tuesday in the club’s weekly injury report. 

"He played really well," elite performance manager Andrew Russell said. 

"We got a message from his dad saying the old Jaeger’s back. We were happy with that because he obviously knows him better than we do, so he’s up for senior selection this week and the match committee and 'Clarko' (coach Alastair Clarkson) will make a decision later in the week."

O’Meara has played just four AFL games this year because of patella tendon issues and the VFL game last weekend was his first at any level since the end of April. He crossed to the Hawks at the end of last season after not playing at all in 2015 and 2016 with Gold Coast because of a series of knee injuries. 

The Hawks still hold a miniscule chance of playing in this year’s finals and could also look to bring back Paul Puopolo, who also got through in the VFL last week, in his first game for six weeks after a groin injury. "'Poppy' moved well and pulled up well," Russell said.

Cyril Rioli (knee) and James Frawley (toe) have been training well but are unlikely to be considered for senior selection, while midfielder Jonathan O’Rourke will resume in the VFL on the weekend in his first game following a serious hamstring injury and a long conditioning block.