Hawthorn have suffered a second serious blow ahead of their big AFL match against Geelong, losing forward Jack Ginnivan to a leg fracture.
It is unclear how long Ginnivan will be out of action, after he suffered a hairline fracture in last weekend’s win over West Coast, but the Hawks are confident it is not long-term.
Captain James Sicily will not play in Saturday’s match at GMHBA Stadium after dislocating his shoulder in the win over the Eagles.
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“Scans have indicated that Jack has suffered a minor hairline crack in his leg following an incident last Sunday,” Hawks doctor Liam West said in a club statement.
“Given the fracture is on the minor end of the scale, we are confident Jack will return to play in the coming rounds.”
Ginnivan had not missed a game this season since being recruited from Collingwood, where he played in last year’s grand final win.
Seamus Mitchell will take his place in the Hawthorn line-up.
The Hawks are only half a game outside the top eight after losing their first five games this season, but Geelong have arguably the best home-ground advantage in the AFL and are coming off a big win over Essendon.
Apart from the 2020 COVID-19 game, it will be the first time the Hawks have visited Geelong since 2006.
“It’s good having one of the bigger Melbourne clubs down here. Clearly, with the new (redeveloped) stadium, it’s a sellout, we’d be surprised if we don’t get a record crowd here,” Cats coach Chris Scott said.
“Our games against the Hawks over a long, long period of time have been good, irrespective of ladder position, but this one seems to me to be as good as any in recent times – because of the way they’re playing.”
Geelong will welcome back Ollie Henry and have promoted Shaun Mannagh for his third senior game after he kicked six goals in the VFL.
Henry and Mannagh will be part of the revamped Geelong attack, in the wake of losing Tom Hawkins for several weeks with a foot injury.
“With every problem you have … it does open up some opportunities for us to think about our forward half a little differently,” Scott said of losing Hawkins a fortnight ago.
“Ollie certainly plays a part there.”
Another player in Geelong’s attack is Gary Rohan, who will play his 200th AFL game.
Scott noted Rohan’s horrific broken leg in 2012 while he was playing at Sydney, saying the effects of the injury are still with him.
“I’ve always been an admirer of the way he’s gone about it,’‘ Scott said.
“He’s a great guy around the place – in some ways he can be the barometer of the mood of our team.
“When he’s up and about, we tend to be up and about.
“He’s always been one of the players who’s been lauded more internally for the stuff that’s difficult for those on the outside to see.”