AFL 2025: Hawthorn will welcome back forward Mitch Lewis from injury this weekend

The Hawks are set for a big boost this weekend with the return of an injured forward after nearly a year on the sidelines.

The much-anticipated wait for Mitch Lewis is almost over.

The Hawthorn spearhead is set to play his first senior game in 378 days this weekend against Port Adelaide in Tasmania.

Lewis was one of the hard luck stories in Hawthorn’s dream run to September last year, going down with an ACL in round 17.

The 26-year-old sought overseas advice on his knee and has been made to earn his place in the side through the VFL.

He had kicked two and three goals in his first two matches for Box Hill but banged the selection door down with a haul of five against Essendon last week.

Lewis is a welcome addition to the Hawks’ front half after going down to Fremantle last weekend.

The clash against the Power marks the return fixture of the Hawks’ worst performance of the year – Gather Round.

Mitch Lewis will make his long-awaited return this weekend. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

The Power piled on 12 of the first 13 goals in that game to hand Hawthorn its first loss of the year.

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell was unsure if he would readdress the Gather Round loss but confirmed he would reach into his “kit bag” to keep the top-four hopes alive.

“They’ve had the wood over us lately, they’ve won certainly the last three,” Mitchell said.

“We haven’t handled a couple of situations well … it’s a big end to the season for every club and they’re in the way of what we’re trying to achieve.

“We’ll prepare the players as best we can to get the outcome we want.

“There’s a whole range of things in our kit bag that we can use for that – the last couple of times we’ve played Port is part of that.

“But whether we decide to show too much of that or not is to be determined.”