Tom Hawkins plays for Cats against Pies, Steven May misses for Melbourne Dems

“We’re picking the team tonight, but he’ll be there. You should choose the team 24 hours before each game; 48 hours out, nobody should pay too much attention to that. He gets accepted into the team and plays.”

However, experienced midfielder Mitch Duncan will be out for several weeks as he struggles with an injury.

“Mitch won’t be playing the next few games. It’s pretty conservative,” Scott said.

“When I start saying it out loud, it reminds me of how we talked about Patty Dangerfield last year, but it’s a bit similar. We could get Mitch now, but it’s a good example of treating players individually based on their specific situation.

“Hawkins is very, very different. He plays a different position and his injury is structurally healthy. Mitch could probably play but he’s different from Hawkins and we’re going to be a little conservative.”

Max Holmes, who played Collingwood in the Qualifying Finals but missed the Grand Finals after suffering a minor hamstring problem in the Prefinals, will join the Cats team.

Selecting exciting small forward Alwyn Davey jnr, Essendon is recruiting Will Setterfield and former Demon Sam Weideman.

Alastair Clarkson has left veteran Ruckman Todd Goldstein out of his first-team as North Melbourne manager but has brought his old Hawks midfielder Liam Shiels into the team to take on Hawthorn.

Ben King is returning from his lengthy injury layoff to play for the Suns, who join academy product Bodhi Uwland and former Saint Ben Long.

“I honestly can’t wait to get going on Saturday night. I’ve supported the Suns my entire life, so being able to play my first AFL game at home in front of friends and family will be very special,” Uwland said. as if to reinforce how young he is and how the Suns are starting to gain traction through their academy.

Adelaide appointed former Magpies midfielder Tyler Brown to make his debut for the club, joining high-profile new signing Izak Rankine and esteemed draftee Max Michalanney.

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West Coast coach Adam Simpson said Ruckmann Nic Naitanui will not play for several weeks while Elliot Yeo is injured again.

Port veteran Travis Boak had to be ruled out from the power side as he is still struggling after a serious collision with Jeremy McGovern in a practice game.

The AFL recalls that the sub-rule this year is not a medical substitution and the offending player can be substituted on for tactical reasons. The stance rule also remains in effect, but if a player feigns handball to get the man on the mark moving, play continues instead and no 50-yard penalty is assessed.

This year, too, there will be four field referees at all games.

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