The good news just keeps on coming for Hawthorn with Luke Hodge locked in to play St Kilda on Saturday, less than three weeks after breaking his arm.
At Melbourne Airport on Friday morning, coach Alastair Clarkson confirmed the skipper would return to the line-up, just minutes after the club announced star forward Jack Gunston had signed a new three-year deal.
The Hawks haven't looked back since losing their season-opener against Geelong, seeing off potential premiership challengers West Coast and the Western Bulldogs in the past fortnight.
Hodge was expected to miss up to six weeks when he broke his arm against the Cats, with his swift recovery even surprising Clarkson, who doubted the skipper would be ready to face the Saints in Launceston when he addressed the media after the three-point win over the Dogs.
"I'm a bit old school thinking that bones take six weeks to recover, but sophisticated surgeries nowadays allow players to come back a little bit earlier because they insert plates and strengthen the bone," Clarkson said.
"He's had a fantastic recovery. It was really just recovering from the wound more so than the fracture now.
"He's been able to demonstrate to the doctors that he's made a really strong recovery."
Gunston, 24, is believed to have spurned significant interest from rival clubs to sign a new deal with the reigning premiers.
Hodge came into the side along with Tim O'Brien and Daniel Howe, with Jonathan O'Rourke (omitted), Ryan Schoenmakers (groin soreness) and Josh Gibson (hamstring tightness) dropping out.
Clarkson said Gibson's omission was precautionary given the Hawks' run of short breaks.
Hawthorn (2-1) will take on St Kilda in their Tasmanian fortress at Aurora Stadium where they've won their past 15 games.
But the 13-placed Saints (1-2) received some good news of their own, with skipper Nick Riewoldt and top draft pick Paddy McCartin cleared to play after suffering concussions in last week's courageous win over Collingwood.
Coach Alan Richardson was forced into three changes, however, with Tom Lee, Eli Templeton and Blake Acres replacing Dylan Roberton (knee), Jimmy Webster (quad) and Luke Dunstan (hamstring).
"They showed form last week that they showed through patches of last year," Clarkson said.
"They've got a talented group of players and they've got some really experienced leaders. If they play somewhere near their best footy like they did last week, they're going to challenge any team in the competition."
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