While the attention of the AFL world this weekend is on the City of Churches for the 3rd annual Gather Round, closer to home, a forgotten Hawthorn duo look set to make their long awaited return to action after suffering significant injuries in 2024.
On Saturday morning, key defender James Blanck and forward Sam Butler are expected to take their first steps on the road to playing AFL football again, as they line up for Box Hill in their scratch match against the Essendon VFL team at the NEC Hangar.
Both players were listed as a test for this weekend, with the duo needing to get through Thursday's training session to all but secure a spot in the Box Hill squad.
They are slated to play limited minutes in their return, as they begin to build up their match fitness after significant time out of the game.
While both players would love to be part of the Hawks team taking on Port Adelaide for Gather Round, there is no doubt both are excited to finally be in contention to be back on the park after the disappointment they faced during a tough 2024.
Not only were they forced to go through a gruelling rehabilitation to recover from significant leg injuries, but they also had to watch on from the sidelines as the Hawks overcame a slow start to the season to win a final for the first time in 9 years.
For both Blanck and Butler, the journey to return to the park has been littered with countless setbacks along the way, however, their determination and commitment to the cause has seen them ready to pull on the boots again.
Blanck, who has played 24 games in his AFL career to date, ruptured his ACL in February of 2024 during Hawthorn's pre-season intra club hit out.
Since that fateful day, he has faced many disruptions in his recovery, including infections in the knee that setback his recovery process.
The club took a cautious approach with the former mid season draft recruit his rehabilitation process, conscious of wanting him to be able to get back onto the park in the best possible shape after the unexpected delays along the way that hindered his recovery.
He had his first run on the Alter G treadmill on the 2nd of October last year, almost 8 months after his season was curtailed in a freak accident in a contest at Bunjil Bagora.
Since then, the high performance team have put him through his own program, allowing him to transition back into skills session in February, before gradually incorporating contact into his workload.
The 24 year old, who impressed as Hawthorn's sole key defender during their late season run of wins in 2023, faces a stiff challenge to regain his starting position, but there's no doubt that his resilience and perseverance, which has been on show during his rehabilitation, will hold him in good stead put pressure on new recruits Tom Barrass and Josh Battle for a starting position.
For small forward Butler, the number 23 pick in the 2021 AFL National Draft, his recovery has been filled with ups and downs since his season was cut short in April of 2024.
After playing for Hawthorn in rounds 4 and 5 last season, Butler found himself playing at Fenjui Stadium for Box Hill against the Sydney VFL team.
Midway through the third quarter of the clash, Butler went down with an incredibly gruesome injury, ultimately resulting in a badly broken lower leg.
He underwent surgery for the horrific break, and from there, the long road to recovery began.
Almost three months after the operation, Butler took his first tentative steps around Waverley Park, as he slowly walked laps, which was a far cry from the blistering speed he had shown of that pre-season.
Butler's training program ramped up and by the first session back in January, he was running with the main group, holding off Hawthorn endurance machine Karl Amon in a 6 minute time trial.
While he looked ready to go, his body had other ideas, and he was removed from the main training group and instead was placed in the rehab group, where he was forced to run laps in a small group as the club tried to manage his training loads as he battled irritation in his ankle.
The 22 year old, who has played 19 AFL games and is out of contract at seasons end, went under the knife again, where he had a screw in his ankle was removed to cease the irritation he was feeling.
Since then, his training loads have been ramped, leaving him with one session left to complete before he returns to the park, almost 12 months to the day since he broke his leg so badly that his toes were touching his knee.
The journey to game day for both Blanck and Butler has been anything but ideal as they overcame significant injuries, but when both run out onto the park on Saturday in the VFL practice match, it will be the start of their redemption story as they aim to make their mark back at AFL level in the brown and gold in the 2025 season.
