Hawthorn will have a near full-strength squad to choose from when the club finalises its Round 1 team set to face the Magpies on Saturday. 

Grant Birchall and Will Langford are the only regular senior heads ruled out, while Jonathon Ceglar is also unlikely to make his awaited return from a knee reconstruction as he deals with back soreness. 

The Hawks line up could potentially be buoyed by the return of Cyril Rioli, who is an outside chance to return after an impressive couple of weeks on the training track. 

“He’s looking great and he’s training really well,” Director of High Performance Andrew Russell said during the club’s injury report last week. 

“If anyone had have come out to training over the last few weeks they would have seen that his intensity has gone through the roof.”

Rewind: 10 years since Cyril's debut

David Mirra’s name may also been thrown into the conversation; the senior recruit was solid in Box Hill’s practice match over the weekend, collecting 24 touches and eight rebound 50s, and will have benefited from the AFL exposure gained in Hawthorn’s first JLT hit out.

Kaiden Brand could also make his return after recovering from a finger injury that kept him out for the majority of the pre-season. The young defender return to Box Hill on Saturday and, according to Coach Chris Newman, looked confident and composed in the backline.    

Hawthorn’s final Round 1 team will be announced via hawthornfc.com.au at 6.20pm on Thursday night, ahead of Saturday night’s season opener. To purchase tickets, click here.