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Hawthorn welcome return of Jarryd Roughead

Hawthorn will be strengthened by the return of Jarryd Roughead for Saturday’s AFL grand final rematch against Sydney.

Roughead – a three-time premiership player for the Hawks – will play little more than two weeks after having a melanoma removed.

Alastair Clarkson’s side have kept up their winning form despite Roughead’s absence, and enter the blockbuster on the back of six successive triumphs, including a 72-point thrashing of ladder-leaders Fremantle.

Roughead all clear to return for Hawks
Roughead recovering well, one test to go
Jarryd Roughead out of footy indefinitely

That form has kept the fourth-placed Hawks in the hunt for a top-two finish even though they lost four games early in the season.

Sydney, who lost by 63 points to Hawthorn in last season’s decider, exacted a minor form of revenge with a four-point win when the two sides met in May.

They sit third in the ladder but have an inferior percentage to Hawthorn and a tougher run home, making Saturday’s clash just as vital.

Hawks coach Clarkson said the return of Roughead was a big boost for his side ahead of the ANZ Stadium fixture.

“It is such a delicate thing that he has been through over the course of the last two or three weeks,” he said.

“It has pretty much been out of our hands from a footy point of view.

“We are obviously delighted with his return, but more particularly we are delighted he has got a tick in regards to his heath and what that means for him for many years to come and not just the next few weeks.”

The Hawks have finished first and second at the conclusion of the home-and-away round in their two most recent premiership campaigns, but Clarkson was loath to look too far ahead this year.

“It’s just four points, it’s an important game but we don’t really focus on anything other than trying to stick to those things we know we need to do to beat the Swans,” he said.

“If we do those really well then the result will look after itself.

“But in terms of what happens at the end of the home and away season – that’s still seven or eight weeks away.”

The Swans will welcome back full-back Ted Richards, who missed a week after being concussed by Jay Schulz in a tackle which the AFL belatedly acknowledged should have resulted in the Port forward being charged by the match review panel.

Young Sydney ruckman Toby Nankervis has been called up to fill in for Mike Pyke, who will miss with a knee complaint.

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