Hawks Captain Luke Hodge will return to the side on Saturday after serving a three week suspension.

Debutant Daniel Howe and defender Taylor Duryea will join Hodge in Saturday’s side that will meet Gold Coast Suns at Aurora Stadium.

Duryea comes back into the side after being omitted for the Hawks clash against Sydney last week. It was the first game the small defender had missed in 2015.

Named as an emergency against Melbourne in Round 7, youngster Daniel Howe will make his debut in the brown and gold.

Howe was picked up by the Hawks with selection 31 in the 2014 National Draft after impressing as a 19-year-old in four matches for Vic Country in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

He was equal-second in the kicking test (28/30) at the NAB AFL Draft Combine and has impressed at Box Hill with outstanding courage, great hands and good vision.

Triple premiership player Grant Birchall will go out of the side having sustained a minor ankle injury in the dying stages of the Hawks’ Round 8 match against the Swans, and young midfielder Will Langford will miss with a corked calf.

Matt Suckling has been omitted from the side.

The Suns will travel to Aurora Stadium after a 69 point loss to Collingwood at home and will be looking to improve on their last performance in Launceston, when the Hawks beat them by 99 points in Round 4, 2014.

Saturday afternoon’s clash will be Luke Breust’s 100th game since he was recruited from Temora with pick 47 in the 2009 Rookie Draft.

The small forward has been part of the Hawks 2013 and 2014 premiership sides and was selected in the 2014 All Australian side.

Round 9

Hawthorn v Gold Coast Suns
Saturday 30 May

Aurora Stadium, 1.45pm

B: Burgoyne Lake Duryea 


HB: Hodge Frawley Gibson
C: Hill Mitchell Hartung
HF: Smith Roughead Rioli


F: Puopolo Hale Gunston
Foll: Ceglar Lewis Breust
I/C: Shiels, Schoenmakers, Stratton, Howe

Emergencies: Suckling, Woodward, Litherland

In: Hodge, Duryea, Howe
Out: Birchall (ankle), Suckling (omitted), Langford (corked calf)

Milestone: L. Breust - 100 games