HAWTHORN received some welcome good news with midfielder Brad Sewell performing well in his comeback game with Box Hill Hawks.
After the match, the 30-year-old premiership veteran told AFL.com.au he was fit and ready to play in the AFL next week if selected.
Sewell is in a strong position to be included with the injury-hit Hawks losing Sam Mitchell, Josh Gibson, Cyril Rioli and Brian Lake to injury and Jarryd Roughead to suspension in the past fortnight.
"I was ready to play AFL this week," Sewell said. "I got through [the game] no worries and the body feels really good so I will certainly be putting my hand up and I will leave it to the hierarchy to make their decision."
Sewell has not played a senior game this season because of a hamstring injury but he was among the Box Hill Hawks' best players in their 29-point win over Richmond.
"I felt really strong out there and once I got that first blow out of the way it was really good," Sewell said.
Sewell ran hard and his touch was good, working his way into the game after a slow start. At one stage he broke free of three Tiger tacklers to push the ball forward. On another occasion he streamed from a stoppage to hit teammate Sam Collins on the chest inside 50.
As usual, he was strong in the clinches and had Richmond's Matt Thomas and Nathan Batsanis running with him.
"I felt good going into the game," Sewell said. "The body was probably right to play a few weeks ago but we made sure we gave it a couple of extra weeks to make sure there were no extra hiccups."
Youngster Alex Woodward also pressed his claims for selection with a good performance in the midfield while Tim O'Brien (forward) and Angus Litherland and Kurt Heatherley (back) performed well. Derek Wanganeen found the ball in space often but his disposal let him down occasionally.
Hawthorn faces Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval next Saturday night and will make at least three changes to the team that lost to the Sydney Swans in round nine.
