HAWTHORN full back Brian Lake could make his debut for the Club after another strong performance in the VFL on Saturday.
After battling a calf injury during the pre-season, Lake was selected in the Round 1 team to take on Geelong before being a late withdrawal.
Requiring further match conditioning before making his first senior appearance for the Club, Lake has played two matches for Box Hill and been a standout performer.
Lake gathered 21 possessions and took nine marks from full back in Box Hill’s win over Essendon, playing with great confidence and leadership as the most experience back man on the ground.
Lake’s inclusion would bolster an already strong Hawthorn defence led by key backs Josh Gibson and Ryan Schoenmakers as it prepares to take on gun Fremantle captain, Matthew Pavlich.
Head of Coaching and Development, Chris Fagan said a best on ground performance by the star recruit for Box Hill on Saturday has put him in the selection mix for Saturday’s clash against Fremantle in Tasmania.
“He’s definitely in the selection mix, he had a really good game last week and was arguably Box Hill’s best player,” he said.
“That’s what we wanted to see, him coming into some good form. He’ll challenge for a spot this week.”
Midfielder Brad Sewell is also a chance to return for the Hawks on Saturday.
Sewell suffered a minor hamstring injury against the Eagles in Round 2 and was substituted out of that game.
He faces a test on Thursday before the Club makes a decision on his availability.
“He did some good running over the weekend so we’ll wait and see how he comes up at training on Thursday,” Fagan said.
“We’ve got to wait and see.”
In further good news for the Hawks, Xavier Ellis is nearing a return from a calf injury and could find his way into the VFL as early as this weekend.
“‘X’ trained this morning and trained really strongly. He may be a chance to play this week, but certainly the week after,” Fagan said.
“He might need two weeks on the track before we put him into a game but he’s not far away.”
Youngster Alex Woodward who tore his ACL during the pre-season is tracking well in his rehabilitation and could make a surprise return to football later this year.
“He’ll (Woodward) just keep progressing through the season and we’ll make a decision later in the year as to whether or not he can make a comeback before the season’s over or whether he’s got to wait until next year.
“Our fitness guys are really happy with where he’s at at the moment, it’s been a drama free recovery up until this point in time.”
