In a devastating setback to the Hawks’ hopes of winning the AFL, Hawthorn defender Sam Frost and standout midfielder Will Day are expected to miss Friday night’s semi-final matchup against Port Adelaide. After suffering a foot injury during the victory over the Western Bulldogs, Frost has been declared out for the remainder of the campaign. Day, however, is anticipated to miss the match against Port since he was unable to recover from a collarbone injury he sustained in Round 23.
In the 37-point victory over the Bulldogs in the elimination final at the MCG on Friday, Frost was instrumental in containing the threat posed by their forwards. However, examinations revealed that the 31-year-old had bone stress in his foot when he was spotted staggering off the court late in the final quarter, dealing a severe blow to the young Hawks team.
“Unfortunately, the scans have confirmed that Sam has a bone stress injury in his foot, and given his specific injury he will not be able to take any further part in our 2024 finals campaign,” Hawks doctor Liam West said on Monday. “Sam will spend the next period offloading in a moon boot whilst we continue to assess him to determine a more accurate recovery timeline.”
Day was supposed to be back for the Bulldogs game, but his recovery has taken longer than anticipated, so it looks like he won’t be able to play against Port Adelaide either. Cam Mackenzie, a fellow midfielder, is also questionable after being ruled out of the Bulldogs game due to a hamstring injury sustained during practise.
Sam Frost believes Hawthorn can win the flag
In spite of the setbacks to his health, Frost still has faith in the bold Hawks’ ability to advance because of their dominance over the Western Bulldogs in the elimination round. The 37-point play represented the most recent outstanding phase of an incredible comeback following a 0–5 start to the season.
There is still a lot of football to be played, so we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. However, the group’s opinion is that we can succeed completely. Frost told AAP, “We’re not here to make up the numbers.” “To reach this stage of the season, we had to win a number of close games towards the end of the year. We’re going to explore as much as we can now that we’re here.”
In the tenth round, Hawthorn had a 41-point lead over Port, but lost by a point in the closing seconds after giving up the last six goals. Following the devastating loss, Sam Mitchell’s team won 11 of the following 13 games and their next five games to cap off an incredible run into the finals.
“We went away from what we’re good at and it was a good learning curve for us in how to finish off a game and not try to save the game too early,” Frost said. It’s likely that a few clubs have picked up on that lesson this season. You can see how late in the game, significant leads get torn apart.
“We reviewed that and we learned a lot, so we’re looking forward to hopefully getting in the same position at three-quarter-time and not making the same mistake.”
And now, they are full of confidence heading into this weekend’s match against Port, whereas Ken Hinkley’s team is full of uncertainties following their crushing 84-point loss to Geelong in the qualifying final. The winning team will receive a preliminary final matchup at the SCG against minor premiers Sydney, which serves as the last preliminarily before the grand final. Frost, though, is eager to see what his side can do.
Regarding the Port Adelaide test, Frost remarked, “That’ll be extremely challenging.” They’re undoubtedly a fantastic team, and they’ll be trying to get back after suffering a difficult defeat.
“But if we succeed, it would undoubtedly be an incredible tale of redemption for us, and we welcome the task. Even though we didn’t cross the boundary in the hostile setting the past time, this group loves to be aggressive. We’re not at all concerned about it since it gives them enthusiasm and makes them want to perform for the audience.”
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