HAWTHORN livewire forward Cyril Rioli will play football this weekend, but whether he slots straight back into the seniors remains to be seen.
Head of Coaching and Development, Chris Fagan confirmed Rioli’s return to hawthornfc.com.au, but fans will have to wait and see if he’ll be facing Geelong at the MCG on Saturday night.
Rioli hasn’t played since Round 5, when he injured his hamstring in the final quarter of the thrilling win over North Melbourne.
The Hawks haven’t ruled out the possibility of its star resuming via the VFL, which would place him at City Oval on Saturday for Box Hill’s match against Collingwood.
“I expect that he’ll return to football this weekend,” Fagan said.
“At what level we’re not quite sure yet, but he’ll certainly play football this weekend.”
The Hawks have been cautious with Rioli’s return in an aim to ensure he’s as fit as possible before he makes his comeback.
He hasn’t played for nine weeks.
If Rioli returned via Box Hill, he would be the third Hawthorn star in two years to do so, with Luke Hodge and Jarryd Roughead both returning from injury via the VFL last season.
Teammate Brad Sewell admitted though, he would be surprised if Rioli played with the Club’s VFL affiliate.
"I've got no idea what the coaches are thinking, but I'd be very surprised if they decided to play him through the VFL," Sewell said on Monday morning.
"He's been training really, really well, so he'll be a nice inclusion for us, hopefully."
Coach Alastair Clarkson admitted he has been tempted to recall Rioli sooner, given the form he has shown on the training track in recent weeks.
“If you saw him train throughout the course of the week, you'd be saying, 'Why isn't he playing?' Clarkson said ahead of the Round 14 clash against Brisbane.
"He trained really well last week in preparation for the West Coast Eagles game (in round 13) and we could have nearly selected him for that game, but we chose not to.
"We just feel like, if he gets two to three weeks of flat-out training under his belt, then he's going to be right to go.”
Rioli could be one of up to four inclusions for the Hawks on Saturday night, with Fagan declaring Paul Puopolo (quad), Max Bailey (knee soreness) and Brent Guerra (back) all available for selection, while Josh Gibson is expected to be fit despite a horrifying collision left him with a sore neck.
Midfielder Liam Shiels won’t play against Geelong, however, with an ankle injury likely to sideline him for 2-4 weeks.
