Ethan Phillips, the newest addition to Hawthorn, will have the opportunity to make a fantastic round one debut on Saturday in Launceston against the great large forwards of the Western Bulldogs.
The 24-year-old defender, who had an excellent second-half showing in the Hawks’ senior squad during their encounter a week ago at Whitten Oval, will try out against Aaron Naughton, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, and Rory Lobb in the last practice session for both teams.
It is presented as a dual premiership. In 2024, Kangaroo David King encouraged Dogs coach Luke Beveridge to assign more responsibilities to up-and-coming talls Sam Darcy and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.
“I think Luke Beveridge has the best talls that he’s had in a while,” King said during Fox Footy’s First Crack season preview. “Tim English, Sam Darcy, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Aaron Naughton, and Liam Jones down back are not going to provide a better set than them for him.
“I’m quite interested in the places they can go with Sam Darcy. I believe that Naughton should now be considered a secondary or tertiary product in relation to your goals for the next 50 years. Give the reins to Jamarra and Darcy.
The Hawks said that Josh Weddle, a second-year player, Jack Gunston, and Harry Morrison had all been managed from the game.
Hawthorn football manager Rob McCartney stated on Friday, “Given this is a practice match, we have decided to take no risks with these players as we eagerly prepare for our clash with Essendon in Round 1.”
This game is scheduled to begin at UTAS Stadium in Launceston at 6:10 p.m. (AEDT).
The game will be shown live and exclusively on Fox Footy at 6 p.m. on Foxtel (Channel 504) and Kayo Sports.
HAWKS
B: Ethan Phillips, Sam Frost, and Jarman Impey
HB: Massimo D’Ambrosio, James Sicily, and Jack Scrimshaw
C: Connor Macdonald, James Worpel, and Karl Amon
HF: Luke Breust, Mitch Lewis, and Nick Watson
F: Finn Maginness, Mabior Chol, and Jack Ginnivan
FOLL: Henry Hustwaite, Cam Mackenzie, and Ned Reeves
I/C: Josh Ward, Blake Hardwick, Conor Nash, Sam Butler, Max Ramsden, Lloyd Meek, Jai Newcombe, and Blake Ryan
EMER: Calsher Dear, Josh Bennetts, Jai Serong, and Clay Tucker
Will Day, Josh Weddle, Jack Gunston, Dylan Moore, Changkuoth Jiath, James Blanck, Chad Wingard, Denver Grainger-Barras, and Harry Morrison are among the notable people who were not present.
Bulldogs
B: Nick Coffield, Liam Jones, and Lachie Bramble
HB: Jason Johannisen, Ed Richards, and Buku Khamis
C: Harvey Gallagher, Adam Treloar, and Bailey Williams
HF: Cody Weightman, Rory Lobb, and Lachie McNeil
F: Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Aaron Naughton, and Rhylee West
FOLL: Tom Liberatore, Marcus Bontempelli, and Tim English
I/C: Laitham Vandermeer, Oskar Baker, Caleb Daniel, Luke Cleary, Sam Darcy, Ryley Sanders, James Harmes, and Taylor Duryea
