After convincingly winning their past two games and securing a spot in the top four, Hawthorn looks likely to regain two important members for this weekend's clash against the Demons at the MCG.
The Hawks, barring any unforeseen setbacks later on this week, look likely to have hard running half back Karl Amon and impressive young forward Calaher Dear at their disposal for the important match that will see the team looking to make it three wins on the trot before their run of tough matches which sees them take on the Suns in Darwin, reigning premiers the Lions and premiership contenders the Mapgies and Bulldogs in a month that will shape their premiership tilt.
With the Hawks finding form after a shaky patch that saw the team lose games against Port Adelaide and Geelong, team selection will be tricky for coach Sam Mitchell, with a host of players finding form, as well as having players to return from injury.
"Selection will continue to be a challenge for us to make sure we keep our best players out there to give ourselves a chance to win every game that we can," Mitchell said after the Hawks' victory in Round 7.
Amon, who has been incredibly durable in his time at Hawthorn, missed last week's 65-point victory over Richmond in the Hawks centenary game due to concussion, which he received the week before in the ANZAC Appeal game against the Eagles.
In his absence, the returning duo of Changkuoth Jian and Finn Maginness were tasked with using their hard running prowess to help the Hawks attack kick back into gear and both would be unlucky not to retain their position in the line up.
The return of Amon would be an added boost to the Hawthorn backline that has started to build combinations and connections after adding experienced key defenders Josh Battle and Tom Barrass to the mix.
Before his concussion, Amon's form had been close to career best, with his booming left foot and speed proving a headache for opposition teams to defend.
In a further boost for the Hawks, young key forward Calsher Dear is nearing a return to AFL football, after being sidelined with stress fractures in his back over the pre-season.
19 year old Dear, who was a revelation in his first season at the Hawks due to his ability to make a contest and provide a constant target up field, has played the last fortnight at Box Hill on reduced minutes but showed that he is ready to return, with his high work rate on display.
Dear has been part of the Hawthorn match simulations during that past month of training sessions, where he has built up more match fitness and helped to get rid of the ring rust.
His return to the senior team this week, barring any setbacks, will be a handy inclusion to the Hawthorn forward line and give another dimension in attack inside 50, where the Hawks are currently ranked number one in the AFL for marks, averaging 16.1 inside the 50 metre arc.
Dear's return to the forward line will also ease the pressure on key forward Mabior Chol, who has battled manfully throughout the first 9 matches for the season as the Hawks lone key tall up forward.
Hawthorn has used 31 players to date this season, with 13 of those players featuring in all 8 games to date for the Hawks, which is down to the high-performance and strength and conditioning teams who have kept the team out on the park.
The Hawks injury list at present has only 4 players on it, with Jack Scrimshaw, who was out with his second concussion in 6 weeks, and Cam Mackenzie, who fractured his hand in a freak accident at last week's main training session, on the cusp of returning to the seniors in less that a fortnight's time.
Mitchell made special mention of this after last week's win against the Tigers, noting that without the off field work that the team wouldn't be in the position they're in now.
"I think we've been quite fortunate, so I'm really, really happy with our medical team," he said following the Round 8 victory.
"Yeah, you know, they only get looked at that closely when things aren't going well. So, I think our medical and S and C (strength and conditioning) guys have done a great job of keeping our players fit and healthy."
With the return of Amon and Dear as soon as this weekend, and with more players set to return in the not-too-distant future, the competition for spots at Waverley Park is about to heat up.
The Hawks' main training session for this week takes place on Thursday, where afterwards the match committee will have some difficult decisions to make as the Hawks look to secure their 7th win for the season as they aim to consolidate their top 4 position.
