HAWTHORN will have an almost full list to choose from as it finalises preparation for the blockbuster opening round clash against Geelong at the MCG.
Captain Luke Hodge, recruit Brian Lake and forward Cyril Rioli have all been declared fit for the opener, despite battling injuries at various stages of the pre-season.
Lake and Rioli played only the first of the triangular series matches in Round 1 of the NAB Cup, before missing the second match against Brisbane with soreness.
A calf injury for Lake and an ankle concern for Rioli meant the duo hasn’t been sighted since.
Hodge didn’t feature in any of his side’s four practice matches, but has declared his knee is in good condition heading into the start of the 2013 season.
Head of Coaching and Development, Chris Fagan says though, the trio aren’t guaranteed selection in the Hawthorn side.
“Hodge, Lake and Cyril (Rioli) are all available for selection this week, it’s just a matter of the match committee making the decisions of which ones to go with and which ones need some extra work at Box Hill,” he said.
The news is better though for defender Josh Gibson who suffered a heavy knock in the Club’s final practice match against North Melbourne in Craigieburn two weeks ago.
Fagan says he and Paul Puopolo who also had an injury setback during the pre-season are fit and ready to take on the Cats.
“They’re fully fit and available for selection, we’ve been happy with the way they’ve progressed from their injuries,” he said.
The Hawks are well placed to take a strong side into the East Monday clash, with Fagan declaring the list is in good shape.
He is confident the coaching and fitness have conditioned the players well for the start of the season.
“We’ve had a great preparation, one of our goals over the pre-season and NAB Cup period was to get a certain amount of game time into as many players as we can,” he said.
“We’ve achieved that with the majority of our squad, most of them have played between 250 and 300 minutes of game time and we figure that will put them in pretty good shape for Round 1.”
In further good news for the Hawks, veteran Michael Osborne is nearing a return to football after missing the majority of 2012 with an anterior cruciate injury.
Having underwent a full knee reconstruction, Osborne is close to making an appearance for the Club’s VFL affiliate, Box Hill.
“Ozzie is due to start playing soon, he’s coming back from a knee reconstruction so he won’t obviously be available for Round 1 in the AFL, but he’ll be playing with Box Hill pretty shortly,” Fagan said.
Round 1 injury list
Xavier Ellis (calf) 3-5 weeks
Mitch Hallahan (ankle) 1-2 weeks
Michael Osborne (knee) test
Matt Suckling (knee) season
Brendan Whitecross (knee) 8-10 weeks
Alex Woodward (knee) season
