Hapless Hawk Jonathon Ceglar set for recall against Eagles

Unlucky Hawthorn ruckman Jonathon Ceglar is under consideration to play his first senior match in almost two years.

Hawthorn's Jonathon Ceglar contests possession with Nic Naitanui on the fateful day for both in 2016.

Unlucky Hawthorn ruckman Jonathon Ceglar is in contention to play his first senior match in almost two years against West Coast on Sunday at Etihad Stadium.

In a bizarre coincidence, the 27-year-old wrecked his right knee in the same quarter that star West Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui suffered a serious left knee injury during a clash at Subiaco Oval in August, 2016.

Naitanui did not play another match until the opening round this year, but has formed a formidable partnership with Scott Lycett, another talented ruckman who was plagued by injury last year.

Ceglar, who was dropped from Hawthorn’s 2014 grand final side, was close to resuming at a similar stage to Naitanui until suffering a back strain. But he has played in the VFL for the past three weeks and was outstanding in his latest outing.

Hawthorn’s incumbent ruckman Ben McEvoy yesterday endorsed Ceglar’s form and said he could well prove handy against sides with a two-pronged ruck attack such as the Eagles.

“It is a bit of a daunting task looking at (tackling the Eagles) line-up on your own, but I’ll leave that up to the match committee,” he said.

“(Jon) played really well last week, so it’s awesome for him. It’s been a pretty tough 18 months, so it’s great to see him back up and about.”

Sunday’s clash against the top-of-the-ladder Eagles is vital for the Hawks as they seek to retain touch with the eight.

The Hawks have slid from the eight after losses to the Swans and Brisbane over the past fortnight and have a testing run against the Eagles, and then Port Adelaide and the Crows on either side of the bye.

“We haven’t been playing anywhere near our best and the weekend was no exception,” McEvoy said.

“We did some things right and started well, but it was a pretty poor performance in the end, so we’re not happy at all with our form.”

There was some surprise at coach Alastair Clarkson’s decision to make six changes heading into the Lions game, four of them omissions.

courtney walsh