HAWTHORN may already be faced with a ruck dilemma ahead of Saturday's grand final, but Max Bailey is intent on adding to the selection headache next season.

Simon Taylor and Brent Renouf are vying to accompany chief big man Robert Campbell for this season finale and Bailey is confident his rehabilitation from a second knee reconstruction will allow him to push his name forward from the start of 2009.

"The knee's coming along well. I'm at a pretty casual stage at the minute, I'm not really pushing to do too much because we go away on the break soon, but once I get back I'll get into a bit of running and push up from there," Bailey said.

"It's going really well, there's no problems at all this time. I had a fair few complications last time which battered me around a little bit, but it's all pretty straight forward now. I'm really confident I can get back for the start of next season.

"Last time I had a tear in my cartilage which we didn't know about for a while and that caused a few problems. I had a lot of swelling and it all added up to not having the desired outcome. This time it was just the ACL that I did, there was no other damage, so I'm pretty confident I can be right for next season."

Bailey, 21, was touted as Hawthorn's ruckman of the future when picked 18th overall in the 2005 NAB AFL Draft and managed four games in his debut season before suffering his first serious knee injury.

He earned the sympathy and best wishes of the football community when the same knee, re-constructed in January 2007, collapsed under him late in the first quarter of his return match for the Box Hill reserves in June.

Initial fears of another ruptured anterior cruciate ligament rupture were confirmed, but the Perth native credits the strong support of his host family, teammates and the club for helping him maintain the focus and confidence required for a return to the field.

"You go through stages, as anyone would when they've been injured. It's a tough thing. You go alright for a bit and then you feel a bit bad or whatever, but the club's been really supportive," he said.

"It was disappointing when it happened again because I put so much work into it, it was 16 months of hard work, and to get 15 minutes of footy out of it was pretty disappointing.

"But looking at the big picture I've got another chance which sometimes people don't get, so I've got to be pretty thankful for that.

"I'm in a pretty good spot; I can't complain too much. I'm getting looked after and I'm getting the best help you can get – so that's the upside.

"I really enjoy my time at the club, I've got some good mates and everyone looks after you really well. I can't complain too much because I'm doing pretty well."

You could forgive Bailey for having a few mixed feelings as the team prepares for a grand final without him, but he reveals reality is quite the opposite.

"It's obviously disappointing not to be in there, but there are 20 other blokes who are in the same spot as me, so you can't go kicking yourself too much and it's a good thing to experience anyway," he said.

"It's a bit hard to fully experience it – obviously you feel a little bit out of it if you're not going to play – but to be a part of this club as it goes through this is great.

"It's such a big organisation, I love it, and being here in the last week is pretty special."