Hawthorn could consider announcing its second debutant of the season in a bid to replace the injured Mabior Chol when the club hosts Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium.
Aidan Schubert and William McCabe are in line to make their AFL debuts after a strong start to the year in the VFL, ultimately leapfrogging Calsher Dear in the key forward rungs.
Chol is set to be sidelined with a hamstring injury, coming from the ground during the first term.
"There's a small part of me that hopes it was really precautionary and he's just cramped up or something," coach Sam Mitchell said.
"But you know when a guy who's as big and as strong and as powerful as him comes off grabbing his hamstring, then doesn't come back on, you wait for scans and get a vibe for that over the next few days."
But as they say, when one door closes, another opens, and that door puts Schubert and McCabe up.
Schubert was drafted with Pick 23 last year out of the SANFL, and has taken little time to make his presence felt in the brown and gold.
In his first two outings as a Hawk, he gathered 10 and 11 disposals, and kicked one and two goals, respectively. But a fortnight ago, his performance lept to new heights, slotting five majors against Casey Demons from 12 possessions and seven marks.
Contesting the vacancy left by Chol is McCabe, who forced selectors to consider him after a four-goal Round 1 effort.
The father-son selection has been listed in back-to-back games as an emergency, but wasn't called upon.
McCabe was drafted in 2023 with Pick 19, following in his father's footsteps in donning the brown and gold.
But the selection chatter does beg the question: What has happened to Calsher Dear?
Dear has fallen by the wayside thus far in 2026 following an injury-interrupted pre-season.
The return of Mitch Lewis to full fitness pushed the father-son youngster from the senior side, while the form of Jack Gunston and versatility of Chol was more reason for Dear to be overlooked.
Dear spoke two weeks ago on his prospects of playing senior football.
"If you look at how I started my career, I was extremely lucky and had a really good opportunity," Dear said on AFL 360.
"There are not many players who get that lucky or have that sort of opportunity.
"I'm not really stressing about it. I'm just doing my time, I'm still developing, still getting better, but I think it's a pretty good problem to have.
"It's not just me that is fighting for a spot, there's so many players that play alongside me at Box Hill that are AFL ready and AFL level but we've just got such a deep list that you've got to wait your turn and make most of the opportunity when it comes."
Last start (April 5), Dear kicked one goal from 16 possessions and seven marks.
His non-AFL selection has created interest around the competition, especially given the club's interest in Gold Coast free agent Ben King.
"No. There has been nothing from that article from me or my manager… it's just a story that's come out in the paper. I'm enjoying it. I'm developing still, I'm only 20. Look at everything the Hawks have done for me: it's a really special place for me," he said on Triple M.
