The stats
AFL games: 5
Disposals per game: 19
Marks: 5.2
Kicks: 11.8
Tackles: 1.2
Total goals: 0
Review
Having only missed four of the Hawks’ games over the previous three seasons, Grant Birchall’s durability was struck down in 2017.
The four-time premiership player managed just five games this year, missing a month with a fractured jaw before injuring his posterior cruciate ligament which held him out for a combined 14 weeks.
The 29-year old went in for surgery to repair his injured knee in early August.
In his fifth appearance in 2018, Birchall will become just the 15th player in club history to reach 250 games for Hawthorn.
A word from: Adem Yze
“He obviously had a wretched run with injury this year. It was an amazing effort that he was able to play through a broken jaw (against Adelaide in Round 2), but that’s just the type of player ‘Birch’ is.
“The numbers show that when Grant Birchall plays, we are a much better team so we’ve got to make sure he gets out on the park and has a big preseason because he is a vital link to our defence.
“Especially with ‘Hodgey’ moving on now, his leadership will be very important. So, we can’t wait for him to get back out to training. He is a competitive beast so he’ll be pumped to get back out there and play next year.”
