Training 2026 Off-Season & Preseason reports and discussion

[Strapping Young Lad]

This.

The last thing we need is a repeat of the farcical situation in 2025 when the club kept insisting Sic was fine.

That was groin, not shoulder though.

 

[grumbleguts]

So frustrating for as talented as he is, his body seems to be made of glass

He honestly must sound like a bowl of rice bubbles just getting out of a chair.

 

[hr_23]

Sicily shoulder was 2024, he dislocated it a couple of times & kept playing

 

[Howe Amazing]

Hope it isn’t too bad

 

[kazzooka]

Grief.

From the footage ExtractorFactor posted (thanks, I guess), there seems to be a lump at the point of Will's shoulder, like something is displaced there. Someone with more medical knowledge than I may be able to make something of that.

Thanks for pointing out, I saw that on 2nd watch now.

This makes me think it may be a torn AC Joint and not dislocation. The bump would be the collarbone sticking up as it's no longer joined to shoulder blade. But it's hard to tell from that video but in person it's easy to tell the difference between dislocated shoulder and AC Joint.

AC Joint connects the collarbone to the shoulder. The other end of the collarbone is connected to the sternum which Will injured against Richmond in 2024.

I had the most severe AC Joint injury Type III and was back playing basketball (1 handed) in 2 weeks and I think 5 weeks playing Football again. No surgery but lingering issues as it doesn't heal you just compensate with surrounding muscles. Surgery is an option though.

 

[SSSSSS]

I'm going to tell my Grandkids that a fit Will Day was a myth.

He never really existed.

Just part of the matrix.

There is no spoon.

 

[VandoHawk]

We could probably strap Day up and have him play through it. Sicily’s continued problems were due to multiple dislocations compounded by additional injuries like his groin.

But given his history and the physicality he plays with, I’d be surprised if we didn’t send him to surgery. The last thing you want is to create another reoccurring issue.

Get him right for a May-June return and pray that he holds up until finals.

 

[SSSSSS]

Fingers and toes crossed with the scans.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

We could probably strap Day up and have him play through it. Sicily’s continued problems were due to multiple dislocations compounded by additional injuries like his groin.

But given his history and the physicality he plays with, I’d be surprised if we didn’t send him to surgery. The last thing you want is to create another reoccurring issue.

Get him right for a May-June return and pray that he holds up until finals.

If it's the above scenario it's arguably a much better diagnosis than the actual shoulder. Potentially 6-8 weeks and back playing even after getting it repaired.

 

[unitedhawk2]

That was groin, not shoulder though.

Yes - but we don't need another situation where we field a player who's not fully fit. The last player we can even think of doing that with, is Will Day.

 

[kazzooka]

This.

The last thing we need is a repeat of the farcical situation in 2025 when the club kept insisting Sic was fine.

That was groin not shoulder.

Sicily injured his shoulder during the 2024 season and played through it (very well but limited).

During 2024 he was getting a lot of the ball and using it well but wasn't his usual best with the overhead marking due to shoulder issue, but come finals you could see he ignored the pain and was taking his marks again. He DID have shoulder surgery at the end of 2024 and it was not an issue in 2025 as far as I could tell, though he did have the opposite shoulder operated on too and of 2025.

Playing through a dislocated shoulder till the end of the year is very common, even when it's known a reconstruction is needed. It's why you see multiple players get shoulder reconstructions once the season finishes, or if a low ranked side can no longer make finals they put them in earlier for surgery.

For Will Day and being that it's January and even a full reconstruction wouldn't end his season we wouldn't delay it if needed. Better to miss early games and play finals than play below his best all year.

I suspect Will has done AC joint and not dislocated shoulder, but information hasn't come out yet, and whatever it is the severity can only be determined after x-ray and scans then surgery decision would be made.

 

[cryptor]

I think if our season had started then you probably just strap it up and manage it best you can. The plans are set and you need to adapt.

But we’re still early in preseason at this point. The alternative is you take some time to re-think the composition of the team to allow Day to have the best possible opportunity of coming in later in the season to have the most impact.

That’s supposing that any sort of reco or long term recovery is even necessary. It might pop back in and he’ll be close to 100% again after some R&R.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

Thanks for pointing out, I saw that on 2nd watch now.

This makes me think it may be a torn AC Joint and not dislocation. The bump would be the collarbone sticking up as it's no longer joined to shoulder blade. But it's hard to tell from that video but in person it's easy to tell the difference between dislocated shoulder and AC Joint.

AC Joint connects the collarbone to the shoulder. The other end of the collarbone is connected to the sternum which Will injured against Richmond in 2024.

I had the most severe AC Joint injury Type III and was back playing basketball (1 handed) in 2 weeks and I think 5 weeks playing Football again. No surgery but lingering issues as it doesn't heal you just compensate with surrounding muscles. Surgery is an option though.
View attachment 2510294

That was groin not shoulder.

Sicily injured his shoulder during the 2024 season and played through it (very well but limited).

During 2024 he was getting a lot of the ball and using it well but wasn't his usual best with the overhead marking due to shoulder issue, but come finals you could see he ignored the pain and was taking his marks again. He DID have shoulder surgery at the end of 2024 and it was not an issue in 2025 as far as I could tell, though he did have the opposite shoulder operated on too and of 2025.

Playing through a dislocated shoulder till the end of the year is very common, even when it's known a reconstruction is needed. It's why you see multiple players get shoulder reconstructions once the season finishes, or if a low ranked side can no longer make finals they put them in earlier for surgery.

For Will Day and being that it's January and even a full reconstruction wouldn't end his season we wouldn't delay it if needed. Better to miss early games and play finals than play below his best all year.

I suspect Will has done AC joint and not dislocated shoulder, but information hasn't come out yet, and whatever it is the severity can only be determined after x-ray and scans then surgery decision would be made.

AC joint is the better diagnosis, it's a potential return in the early rounds instead of middle of the year.

 

[Ka Norkers]

That was groin not shoulder.

Sicily injured his shoulder during the 2024 season and played through it (very well but limited).

During 2024 he was getting a lot of the ball and using it well but wasn't his usual best with the overhead marking due to shoulder issue, but come finals you could see he ignored the pain and was taking his marks again. He DID have shoulder surgery at the end of 2024 and it was not an issue in 2025 as far as I could tell, though he did have the opposite shoulder operated on too and of 2025.

Playing through a dislocated shoulder till the end of the year is very common, even when it's known a reconstruction is needed. It's why you see multiple players get shoulder reconstructions once the season finishes, or if a low ranked side can no longer make finals they put them in earlier for surgery.

For Will Day and being that it's January and even a full reconstruction wouldn't end his season we wouldn't delay it if needed. Better to miss early games and play finals than play below his best all year.

I suspect Will has done AC joint and not dislocated shoulder, but information hasn't come out yet, and whatever it is the severity can only be determined after x-ray and scans then surgery decision would be made.

interested on what you base your "suspicion" on. Looks like a dislocation to me.

PS, the Rockwood classification you posted above is a pretty simplistic explanation, but it is near enough, I guess.

 

[kirbatron]

I just wanna watch this bloke play footy

 

[Franko Armani]

Love Will and could’ve potentially been the best player in the comp. It’s time to move on from calculating Will into Hawthorns plans though with the way his body responds to senior AFL football. If his body ever gets right and he’s able to play through a season then great, but let’s plan without him now.

 

[Linda CRS]

Love Will and could’ve potentially been the best player in the comp. It’s time to move on from calculating Will into Hawthorns plans though with the way his body responds to senior AFL football. If his body ever gets right and he’s able to play through a season then great, but let’s plan without him now.

Yes FFS why don’t we swallow pride and ring Tom Mitchell. We are a contender who needs depth, now more than ever!

 

[Franko Armani]

Yes FFS why don’t we swallow pride and ring Tom Mitchell. We are a contender who needs depth, now more than ever!

We need to ring somebody, I couldnt stomach watching Tom Mitchell floating the ball 30 metres into the air with every kick again though.

 

[parsons nose]

Put him in cotton wool and have him cherry ripe for 2027.

 

[Randy Campbell]

I miss Will.

 

[Franko Armani]

Put him in cotton wool and have him cherry ripe for 2027.

And go through the same thing again in pre season 27. I’m erasing him from my mind. Too painful otherwise. Delete

 

[Atch]

Can we get a ban on will day fit and ready to go articles? Absolutely pointless, especially in bloody January. Just putting the mozz on, unnecessary.

 

[Del236379]

Loved seeing the Butler and Nash push and shove!

I really think Butsy is going to have a big impact this year. Our Tom Atkins.

Going to need him to step up even more now.

 

[kazzooka]

interested on what you base your "suspicion" on. Looks like a dislocation to me.

PS, the Rockwood classification you posted above is a pretty simplistic explanation, but it is near enough, I guess.

suspicion was based on the image showing the bump that looked like collarbone sticking up on AC joint. But yes could be a dislocation of shoulder too. It would be very easy to tell in person. as dislocation it is sunken in where the head of the humerus connects to the ball and socket joint.

Whichever injury it is scans would need to determine the damage and what recovery looks like.

 

[kazzooka]

Can we get a ban on will day fit and ready to go articles? Absolutely pointless, especially in bloody January. Just putting the mozz on, unnecessary.

Agree, I also cringed at Mitch Lewis saying it's his first full preseason in years. Mate, you've had 4 weeks pre-christmas training you aren't even half way through yet.

You haven't had a full preseason and fit and ready to go until you've ran out in the first game.

Xavier Ellis had many of those stories too.