AFL 2024: All the Hawthorn intra-club standouts as Changkuoth Jiath and James Blanck suffer injuries
Hawthorn’s intra-club match on didn’t go to plan, with a serious knee injury putting a dampener on Thursday’s hitout – but there were some positives. Here’s the latest intel.
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Hawthorn has suffered a cruel double blow out of its first intra-club match with key defender James Blanck set to miss the entire season after rupturing his ACL and exciting utility Changkuoth Jiath sidelined with yet another soft-tissue injury.
The Hawks are only a month out from a round 1 date with Essendon and now face a key defensive shortage following Blanck’s injury.
The loss of Jiath is another blow for coach Sam Mitchell and the Hawks, with midfielder Will Day already ruled out for the club’s season-opener.
Jaith is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks, forcing Mitchell into another reshuffle after the athletic 24-year-old had made an impressive transition to a wing.
The injuries come as small forward Dylan Moore has been diagnosed with glandular fever, with the Hawks holding out some hope he could return in time to take on the Bombers.
Assistant coach David Hale conceded the players were left flattened by the injuries to Blanck and Jiath before regaining their composure in the final term of an entertaining intra-club match at Waverley on Thursday.
Blanck slammed his hand into the ground in frustration after crashing to the ground in the third term. He was taken off the ground by trainers and sent immediately to hospital for scans with the bad news coming late afternoon.
Hawthorn executive general manager of football Rob McCartney said: “We all feel for James at this point in time following a strong pre-season and what looked to be a promising year ahead.”
“In saying this, James’ character will see him quickly turn his attention to being diligent throughout his rehab so he can return to the field in 2025 ready to build on the development we have seen during his first two seasons in the brown and gold.”
Jiath endured a tough 2023 season with a series of soft-tissue injuries restricting him to only eight matches. He travelled to Qatar in the off-season in an effort to get on top of his issues.
He looked dangerous in the first half of the intra-club on the wing, but pulled up short in his action and was taken for scans during the game.
“It was a bit flattening .. everyone was thinking in the back of their mind about those two (Jiath and Blanck),” Hale said.
“It is always hard in a footy sense. They are brothers really in a sense, given they spend so much time together. It took a bit of time to get going again, and then in the last quarter we saw a little bit of the footy we were after.”
Hawthorn went hard at recruiting Ben McKay in the trade period, mindful of its shallow key defensive pool, but he ultimately decided on a move to Essendon.
The Hawks will likely look at SPP options to replace Blanck in 2024, with 2022 Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal winner and 197cm defender Ethan Phillips - now at Box Hill - likely to be under consideration.
“We have Frosty (Sam Frost), we can play (Jack) Scrimshaw tall, (but) the younger talls is one area we might be a bit lean on,” Hale said. “That’s something we might need to look at.”Hale said Jiath had done everything right in the preseason after enduring a challenging 2023, but stressed he would get through this latest setback.
“It is frustrating for CJ … he has had a great preseason,” he said. “Hopefully, it is on the minor end of the scale. He is a great kid.”
Hawthorn doctor Liam West said the club will take a cautious approach with Moore’s recovery.
“We will ensure Dylan is managed safely according to his symptoms over the next few weeks before we map out his return to play timeline,” West said.
“We don’t want to rush Dylan back, but we are hopeful he can bounce back quickly and return to training in the lead up to the start of the season.”
FIVE FOR ‘FAB MAB’
Mabior Chol was the standout forward for the Hawks with five goals, with Hale saying the former Sun and Tiger had already made an impact at his third AFL club.
The 27-year-old looked good in the air and handy when the ball hit the deck as he looked a serious target in attack alongside Mitch Lewis.
Jack Gunston started on the opposite team to Chol and Lewis, but switched teams and looked lively in his first outing since his return to the club after one season with Brisbane.
Chol kicked 44 goals for the Suns in 2022 but was overlooked for most of last season, but Hale is hoping he can bring that form to the Hawks’ attack.
“Mabs has been great, he has been that tall target we have been lacking the last couple of years,” Hale said. “(He) can take a bit of a mark up forward and provide a bit of a presence for the smalls who we have brought into the club.
“Anyone who knows him and has worked with him knows that he is a laid-back character … (but) he has the intensity and desire to compete.
“He is going to be a good player in the forward line … him and Lewis and Gunston going forward.”
Ned Reeves looks to have nailed down the main ruck role, with Lloyd Meek and Max Ramsden likely to compete for the back-up role.
Meek started in the ruck against Reeves, while Ramsden kicked three goals late in the game.
WIZARD WILL BE A ‘MENACE’
Hawthorn has a plethora of small forwards capable of kicking goals and dragging in the fans, which Hale thinks can be a real weapon going forward.
He believes top-five draft pick Nick ‘The Wizard’ Watson and Magpies premiership forward Jack Ginnivan can create a “dynamic” duo which will seriously challenge opposition defences.
Watson gave an early hint of his footy nous and tricks with a brilliant first-goal, while Ginnivan finished with two goals – the first a dribbler that rolled through and the second a spectacular snap from the boundary.
“(Watson) is a top draft pick for a reason. He has got plenty of skills, his forward pressure and goal sense … some of that stuff is hard to teach,” Hale said.
“He is going to be a menace for a long time.”
Asked if Watson and Ginnivan can play in the same attack which will include 500-goal small forward Luke Breust, Dylan Moore and defender turned pressure forward Blake Hardwick, Hale quickly said: “Definitely … imagine lining up on those, and then you bring in Breust who has kicked 500 goals, and it becomes a different forward line to the last couple of years.”
Hardwick was impressive in attack, and he offers the Hawks the flexibility of playing forward or in defence, depending on what is required.
MIDFIELD RICHES
The race is on for midfield spots for the Hawks for the round 1 clash with Essendon, with Henry Hustwaite putting his hand up in the absence of Day.
Hustwaite was impressive in the final two games of last year and looks set to challenge for a role this season.
The top four in the Crimmins Medal last year were all midfielders, with Day, Jai Newcombe, Conor Nash and James Worpel combining for stellar seasons.
But there will be more in the mix this season which will make for some interesting selection dilemmas, which Hale said is a bonus for the club going forward.
“‘Hus’ is someone we watched in the draft period … and we are really excited with his development,” he said. “He is really clean with the ball in hand, he makes good decisions and always seems to have time in congestion.
“That midfield depth is going to be a bit deeper than we have had in the past.
“You have your guys who played last year in Worpel, Newcombe, (Day), Nash … and (now with) Josh Ward, (Cam) Mackenzie and Hustwaite … There are a lot of guys who can go through there. Connor Macdonald wants to go through there too.”
Karl Amon impressed again off half-back and looks ready to bed down that role on a permanent basis this season; former Bomber Massimo D’Ambrosio will be a good distributor of the ball for the Hawks; Denver Grainger-Barras has gone back to defence after a brief move forward last year; and James Sicily and Josh Weddle look set for big years.
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