THE SHOW rolls on.
That's what happens when the dust settles after a long-term injury. Hawthorn will be without Will Day for the first half of the season after he underwent a shoulder reconstruction this week, but the Hawks have been exploring different options to cover the giant hole. They have to.
Hawthorn, unfortunately, has experience in this area. Day managed only six senior appearances in 2025 and didn't feature in September for the second year in a row. He has played only six of the past 29 games and endured two injury interrupted campaigns since he won the 2023 Peter Crimmins Medal.
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The Hawks won two finals last year without him, after almost winning two in 2024 with the No.12 watching on from the other side of the fence at the MCG and then Adelaide Oval.
Day had only just been given the green light to return to full training from a third stress reaction in his right foot last Monday morning when disaster struck at the Kennedy Community Centre three days later.
Will the 24-year-old's body ever hold up for a full season is a tough, but valid question at this point for a player that has averaged 12.3 games per year since Hawthorn selected at pick No.13 in the 2019 AFL Draft, but not one Sam Mitchell and the coaching department in Dingley are spending time pondering right now.
They have to find answers to the midfield puzzle in the coming weeks and months. Not only will Hawthorn be without Day until around the mid-season bye in round 14, but James Worpel is no longer in brown and gold after moving down the highway to Geelong as a free agent. And despite offering pick No.10, 22, a future first-round pick and Henry Hustwaite to Essendon on deadline day, Zach Merrett will wear the red and black again in 2026.
New co-captain Jai Newcombe will be central to Hawthorn's midfield gameplan again this year. David Mackay is now running that area, with David Hale now overseeing structure and opposition. Irishman Conor Nash is now a mainstay, but how will the Hawks cope without Day putting on his cape?
"It is obviously going to be a challenge, but unfortunately we've been in this situation before where we've had to deal without him for a chunk of time," Nash told AFL.com.au on Thursday.
"We've got a lot of boys rolling through there. There is massive opportunity in that space. We know we need to lift; it was one key area last year where we let ourselves down at certain times. We have the boys there to be a really dominant midfield.
"It's going to be our biggest mental challenge, isn't it? Because one bad game and everyone will be jumping on us again, we know that. We're looking forward to the challenge. It will be quite a different midfield. 'D-Mac' [David Mackay] has been a big addition to that as well."
Hawthorn has gradually increased its match simulation block since reporting back for training on January 8. The Hawks played 4 x 10 minutes at the Kennedy Community Centre on Thursday, where Connor Macdonald starred playing as a full-time mid in one of the key positional tweaks of the summer to date.
Macdonald attended five centre bounces in 2025. Five total. Compare that to the 555 of Newcombe. The 23-year-old has played 90 of 96 games since making his debut in round one of 2022, playing almost exclusively across half-forward, but his work at stoppages has stood out across December and January, looking at home in the famous No.9 he inherited before Christmas.
Nick Watson averaged 1.5 centre bounce attendances last year, but that number will spike this winter. The 170cm small forward has trained with the midfielders across the pre-season and is expected to be used in short bursts, likely just for centre bounces where his elite chasing has been equally as damaging as his offensive game so far.
Hawthorn won't want to lose his scoreboard impact, which rose from 25 goals in 2024 to 36 last year, but will explore a move that is likely to be more Tom Papley than Kysaiah Pickett. Jack Ginnivan also added a spark at centre bounce on Thursday in a sign of another lever that can be pulled this year.
The Josh Weddle magnet is the most intriguing at Hawthorn. Back, wing, inside? That is the big question. On Thursday, Weddle spent the first half playing on a wing and the second in the middle. Weddle has spent most of the summer with the midfielders and has the tank to play there. His best football has been played down back, but can the 191cm unicorn help cover the loss of Day?
Ollie Greeves was one of the biggest draft sliders in recent history when he was overlooked in last November's AFL Draft before Hawthorn selected him with pick No.12 in the Rookie Draft after the 192cm midfielder was named All-Australian, Vic Metro MVP and runner-up in the Larke Medal.
Recruiters have questioned his endurance – and he might never compete with the likes of Dylan Moore, Karl Amon and Weddle in the running – but his inside craft has been a feature in recent weeks as he puts his hand up for some midfield time in the match sim against Geelong on February 16. Expect the teenager to get a chance there, before more opportunity in the AAMI Community Series against the Western Bulldogs on February 27. As will Jack Dalton, who was selected at pick No.34 after running the fastest 2km time trial at the combine and has settled in seamlessly at AFL level.
And there is Josh Ward and Cam Mackenzie – the two players the club used pick No.7 on in consecutive drafts in 2021 and 2022 – who have shown glimpses but are yet to put full seasons together. Both have banked impressive pre-seasons to date and look poised to take another step in 2026. Ward has stamped himself as one of the best runners at the club.
A few clubs explored a move for Mackenzie last year after he was limited to just 12 senior appearances in 2025, but Hawthorn was clear privately and publicly that it didn't want to trade him. He should get more opportunities without Worpel at the club and with Day sidelined.
Sam Butler played six games last year, but in a sign of his rising value, the forward-turned-midfielder featured in all three finals, where his two goals against the Crows at the Adelaide Oval were important in the semi-final win. After returning from a horrific double leg break in 2025, Butler turned his back on an offer from West Coast in September to re-sign with the Hawks for two more seasons and has set the pace with his running and aggression this pre-season.
Henry Hustwaite has played only 10 games in three seasons and had interest from Essendon during the trade period, but now enters a crucial year for his career as he aims to become a more regular AFL player. Hustwaite was in the rehab group before Christmas but has done a lot of the program to start the new year. Can his form in the VFL translate at AFL level?
Newcombe helped paper over the cracks in the midfield in the finals. Day will have enough time to regain form in June and July to help Hawthorn launch another assault on September. But before then, Hawthorn needs others to stand up. If they don't, the Merrett narrative will drag on.