THE SPLIT round has aided the return of two of Hawthorn's premiership defenders for Saturday night's clash with West Coast at Subiaco Oval, with Stephen Gilham and Rick Ladson joined in the side by Brendan Whitecross.

Football manager Mark Evans also said it would not be long before the club was even closer to the 22 it fielded last September.

Hawthorn will be trying to win its seventh match of the season, with a victory over the Eagles almost certain to see the Hawks move back inside the top eight.

While Brent Renouf, Ryan Schoenmakers and Travis Tuck are the unlucky omissions this week, Evans said tough selection decisions were a positive for the club.

"It’s probably one of the first times [for the season] that we’ve brought players into the squad where players haven’t gone out through injury," he told hawthornfc.com.au.

"So it’s certainly a better position for us to be in."

The availability of full-back Gilham and Ladson was a particular boost for coach Alastair Clarkson.

It will be Ladson’s first senior game for 2009 and only Gilham’s second.

Both played for Box Hill two weeks ago but were rested last round in preparation for making the trip west.

The Hawks enjoyed their mid-season break and Evans admitted the club had been eyeing the bye as an opportunity to regain some of its key players.

"The week after the break was always a good possibility for us to get a couple of players back," he said.

"We knew that if they were to be a chance to play for Hawthorn this week, given the six-day turnaround from the Box Hill game through to the Hawthorn game – and the travel – then we would want them to stake their claim early in the week at selection.

"So we decided that they didn’t need to play at Box Hill last weekend."

Evans said young star Cyril Rioli (hamstring) and premiership wingman Clinton Young (hip) were continuing their rehabilitation from injury.

"We probably expect that they’d maybe be two matches away," he said.

"So hopefully we can add some more names into the squad pretty soon."

Norm Smith Medallist Luke Hodge has also been named on the ball, however, Evans wasn’t giving anything away when asked whether the vice-captain might be freed up to play a more creative role.

"He’s in the team. That’s a good start for us!"

Hawthorn
B: Guerra, Gilham, Murphy
HB: Birchall, Brown, Ladson
C: Lewis, Mitchell, Ellis
HF: Bateman, Franklin, McGlynn
F: Williams, Roughead, Osborne
Foll: Campbell, Hodge, Sewell
I/C: Dew, Muston, Taylor, Whitecross

In: Gilham, Ladson, Whitecross
Out: Renouf, Schoenmakers, Tuck

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.