When the Hawks run out onto the ground at their home away from home in Launceston this weekend against Port Adelaide, the 378-day wait for Mitchell Lewis's return to AFL level will finally end.
The Hawks, who are sitting inside the top eight with an 11-6 record, will finally get the services of their game-breaking key forward, who has been missed since his ACL injury against the Cats last year.
With Mabior Chol being managed this round with soreness, Lewis' recall to the senior side is another boost to the Hawthorn lineup as they look to secure a second consecutive finals series after their finals breakthrough last year, where they won their first final since 2015.
Lewis has played three games for Hawthorn's VFL affiliate Box Hill since the Hawks' mid-season bye, where he showed head coach Sam Mitchell and forwards coach Adrian Hickmott that his confidence was up and he was ready to make an impact at senior level.
In those three games, Lewis kicked 10 goals, including a bag of five last weekend against Essendon, showcasing his impressive marking capabilities, averaging 6.6 marks and working up to the wings in attack, showing no signs of rust as he looked to put forth his case for an AFL recall.
At his best, Lewis is an important cog in the Hawthorn set up, where his excellent marking ability, as well as his goalkicking prowess, will add another important component to a Hawthorn forward line that is hoping to hit its straps in the back end of the season.
26-year-old Lewis has had a wretched run with injury since the back end of the 2023 season and will hopefully get to show the AFL world why he was seen as a potential star of the competition.
In 2023, Lewis kicked 36 goals from 15 games before a knee injury cut the end of his season short.
2024 saw Lewis battle with injury, where he struggled to get on the park with niggling issues, featuring in just four games, including the Round 17 clash that saw his season end through the tragic injury.
Lewis was forced to watch on from the sidelines as the Hawks rode a wave of momentum, storming into the finals series, where they recorded an elimination final victory over the Dogs, before falling short by three points to Port Adelaide, who the team will face on Saturday afternoon.
Lewis assisted the AFLW team, alongside veteran Jack Gunston, over his off-season, before heading over to the US alongside fellow ACL victim James Blanck, to work with internationally renowned reconditioning guru Bill Knowles to assist with his recovery.
The Hawks were cautious with Lewis' return to the field, taking their time in his rehabilitation and allowing the knee to fully heal.
The 76th pick in the 2016 AFL National Draft, Lewis reintegrated into main training where he has featured strongly in match simulation, competing against key defender Tom Barrass in a series of sessions that have the 199cm key forward ready to take his opportunity by the scruff of the neck.
With Chol and Gunston, who is leading the clubs goal kicking with 38 majors for the season, performing incredibly well this year, and young gun Dear ready to recapture his form from his 2024 debut season, the addition of Lewis makes the Hawthorn forward line even more of a challenge to opposition defences in the run home to the AFL finals series.
Lewis' return in the clash will be an important inclusion to the side as they look to make it a clean sweep of wins at UTAS Stadium in 2025 and keep their finals chances alive ahead of a challenging six-week stretch that includes playing potential flag fancies Adelaide, Collingwood and Brisbane to round off the regular season.
