James Sicily and James Worpel will be given every opportunity to make their return this weekend, according to Senior Coach Sam Mitchell.

Speaking to the media on Thursday ahead of Hawthorn's Round 17 match against St Kilda, Mitchell also spoke on Mabior Chol's 100-game milestone and Josh Weddle's injury.

Here are the key points:

ON UPCOMING MATCH AGAINST ST KILDA

"They've got a couple of genuine A-grade talents, particualrly in their back half, with Sinclair, Wanganeen-Milera and Wilkie - three potentiall All Australian defenders. They're running a tag some weeks and not others, they're bringing up a lot of numbers around the ball some weeks and not others, so they're quite a challenge. And we know their ground ball game is the best in the comp by a quite a long way. They average +11 ground ball gets, the next best is only +5 per game. They're a team with enormous running power, great physicality and we're going to have the play really well.

ON THE LIKELIHOOD OF SICILY & WORPEL RETURNING

"If James Sicily and James Worpel get through training they will be available. We've got some selection decisions. More likely than unlikely, but they haven't been ticked off.

"It is probably more how they wake up tomorrow, so even if they get through training today we'll name them, but for both of those guys how they wake up the next day is important.

"Worpel's corkie ended up being quite a nasty bleed. He is as professional and as diligent a player that we have, so he had this very unusual bleed. He has done a good job to get back this quickly; I don't think anyone would have got back quicker."

ON INJURY TO JOSH WEDDLE

"He pulled up from the game pretty sore in his back, and as you do, you get a scan and obviously a disappointing result. Realistically we don't know and we won't know for a month."

"We've had a couple of these: Will McCabe came in with some back trouble and Calsher [Dear] at the start of the year. It's reasonably similar; the process is wait a month, don't do much in that time, rescan it and see how it's gone. If in a month's time there is a bit of healing and it's on the right track that will keep the door open for the season. If in a month's time they rescan and it doesn't look as progressed as they would have liked then they will rule him out."

ON THE SELECTION SQUEEZE

"It's the right dilemma.

"In the latter part of the year we are going to have to have some tough selection decisions, but we've had to do that across the course of this year. You look at the best teams that are playing the best footy, they are the decisions you have to make. You have very good players that are more than AFL capable who aren't playing at a given time.

"We know we are going to pick the best team and we know it's going to take probably 30 players between now and the end of the season to get the results that we want to get. And if they aren't in for a given week, our players have been fantastic at responding to that, going back and playing fantastic footy at Box Hill. Box Hill are on top of the ladder and are in good form. As a collective, whether you are in our or out the team, you are still part of what we are doing. 

"Our players who have been on the periphoerey and in and out of the team have been led fantastically well and they have led fanastcially well when there is the disappointment of being out of the side.

ON MABIOR CHOL'S 100TH GAME

"I'm rapt for Marbs. When you look at him and when he plays, he's been a player who has been fantastic to watch at his best, and perhaps not at other times in his career. But for us to try and get him playing his best is good for the game, good for us and good for him.

"I think when you see the actions that he's gone to and his progression across his career, it's 100 games to be proud of.

See the full press conference below: