HAWTHORN expects to regain star forward Cyril Rioli for its Preliminary Final against the winner of Friday night’s Geelong-Port Adelaide Semi Final in two weeks.
Rioli was a late withdrawal ahead of last Friday night’s Qualifying Final win over Sydney with an ankle injury sustained against North Melbourne in Round 22.
The Hawks gave Rioli every opportunity to play last Friday night and Coach Alastair Clarkson revealed he expected his forward to play when he woke on Friday morning, but was told by Club doctors shortly after 10am on game day, he was ruled out.
The dynamic Hawks forward has missed two weeks with the ankle, and should he be fit for the Friday night Preliminary Final on 20 September, it will have been four weeks since he sustained the injury.
The Hawks have the week off after qualifying for the Preliminary Final, giving Rioli an extra week to prepare for the Preliminary Final.
Head of Coaching and Development, Chris Fagan expects the star to be fit.
“Having a bit of extra time to get ready for our next game is of benefit to Cyril,” Fagan told hawthornfc.com.au
“(It) should allow him the time to be right to play.”
Rioli is the only injury concern for the Hawks heading into the Preliminary Final in two weeks, with only knee victims Matt Suckling, Ryan Schoenmakers and Alex Woodward unavailable.
“We’re in really good shape, we couldn’t be happier,” Fagan said of the health of the list.
“Other than the boys who injured their knees earlier in the year, we’ve got a full squad to pick from.”
The Hawks will also regain superstar forward Lance Franklin for the Preliminary Final after he served his one-week ban for rough conduct last week.
It is business as usual at Hawthorn in the lead-up to the penultimate finals round, with the Club to ramp up preparations over the weekend.
“This week has been a normal week so far,” Fagan said.
“We’ve reviewed the game and trained this morning – the boys had a good hit out and did some weights.
“Tomorrow is their day off and then in the latter part of the week and over the weekend, we’ll have a couple of good, solid training sessions to get some conditioning into our legs in readiness for what will be a big clash next Friday night.”
