Midfield star Jai Newcombe will be a test to play this weekend after being a late withdrawal from the side last week.
Midfield star Jai Newcombe is set to make his return for Hawthorn’s final game of the season this Saturday against Fremantle.
The 22-year-old was a late withdrawal from the side that took on Melbourne last weekend after experiencing hamstring tightness following his previous game against the Western Bulldogs.
“Jai had a run around today and felt great,” Burge said.
“It was a case of he had some delayed soreness from the pervious week when he had a big game against the Bulldogs.
“He did our main training session last week, not at 100 per cent speed, but he just wasn’t good enough so we made a late call that we wouldn’t play him.
“We expect him to be fully training later this week and be playing on the weekend.”
Mid-season recruit Brandon Ryan is also expected to be available for selection after missing the last fortnight due to illness.
Meanwhile, key forward Mitch Lewis is a test to play after suffering a mid-foot injury a fortnight ago, but Burge acknowledged he was less likely to get up.
“Mitch was in a moon boot last week just to unload his mid-foot sprain, he has been in and out of the boot over the last seven days,” Burge added.
“When he’s out of the boot, he is still not feeling comfortable yet, so we’ve left him in it for now.
“It’s looking less likely, but we’ll give him every chance and reassess later in the week, get him out of the boot and moving, but at this stage it’s probably less likely than likely.”
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