‘Carnage’: Hawks hitout turns into ‘horror’ show as star seriously hurt, defender out for the year

Hawthorn’s plans for Round 1 look to have been thrown into chaos after a costly intra-club clash, which saw two key players limp off mid-match with injuries.

Explosive rebounding defender Changkuoth Jiath was sent for scans by the Hawks on a hamstring issue he picked up during the internal hit-out at Waverley Park on Thursday, before key back James Blanck tore his ACL.

“In extreme pain, being carried off now. Carnage at Waverley Park,” 9 News Melbourne reporter Josh Dawe wrote on X after Blanck limped from the track.

Hawks footy boss Rob McCartney later confirmed scans had confirmed the ACL tear for Blanck, saying Sam Frost and Denver Grainger-Barras are the next men up in the key defensive queue.

Meanwhile Jiath’s hamstring strain was medium-grade meaning he’ll miss between six and eight weeks.

Dual premiership Kangaroo David King described the intra-club on SEN as a “horror session”.

King said the injury to Jiath, who had hamstring issues last season, was “really sad” and that the player looked “dejected”.

“Disaster out here for the Hawks,” King said on SEN’s Whateley. “He’s walked from the ground, it’s a reoccurrence of that hamstring injury he’s had awful trouble with in the last couple of seasons.

“He travelled overseas to get better education and work with different methods to ensure his groins are fine and hamstring are fine to try and find the root cause of it all.

“But after a fantastic pre-season, it’s come to a grinding halt today.

“He didn’t limp, he just walked. We weren’t quite sure what’d happened. We feared it was the hamstring and it looks like it’s that way.”

It also comes after star Hawthorn forward Dylan Moore was ruled out for at least one month — including possibly Round 1 — after being diagnosed with glandular fever on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old was withdrawn from the Hawks’ intra-club match and will gradually be reintroduced to training in a development which clouds his availability to play Essendon on March 16.

Hawthorn will already be without star midfielder Will Day for the clash, with the reigning best and fairest still yet to have a date set for his return as he remains in a moon boot after a stress fracture was discovered in his foot.

Hawthorn head doctor Liam West said Moore would be “given every chance” to play in the club’s season opener despite a cautious approach to his recovery.

“We will ensure Dylan is managed safely according to his symptoms over the next few weeks before we map out his return to play timeline,” West said.

“We don’t want to rush Dylan back, but we are hopeful he can bounce back quickly and return to training in the lead up to the start of the season.”

Hawthorn assistant coach David Hale said the club hoped the injuries to Blanck and Jiath during the intraclub game were on the “minor end of the scale”.

He said Blanck’s incident, which left the 23-year-old in significant pain, had a “flattening” effect on his teammates and the quality of the match.

“It was a bit flattening, the third period we changed teams, and that period of time I think everyone was thinking in the back of their mind about those two, which is always hard in a footy sense,” Hale said.

“It took a little bit of time to get them going again, and then that last quarter we saw a bit more of the footy we were after.

“It’s always hard when someone you know and (are) pretty close to gets injured in that situation.”

Jiath’s latest setback comes after he was sent to Qatar for a medical assessment over the Christmas break after calf and Achilles injuries kept him to only eight games.

“It’s frustrating for CJ – he’s done plenty right to get himself into the position he was in today, he’s had a great pre-season,” Hale said.

“He’s a great kid, he’s come back in good nick and hopefully it’s not too long for him.”

It comes after the Hawks secured the prized signature of Josh Weddle for two more seasons to tie him to the club until the end of 2026.

Hawthorn pulled an aggressive live pick swap during the 2022 draft to nab the speedy defender with pick 18, and Weddle went on to play all 17 games after his round 7 debut, averaging 17 disposals and five marks across halfback and on the wing.

Hawks recruiting boss Mark McKenzie said the club was thrilled to secure a commitment from the 19-year-old.

“Josh has produced a promising start to his AFL career, which should make Hawks fans feel incredibly excited for what’s ahead,” McKenzie said.

“Despite being just a teenager, Josh has an insatiable hunger for hard work and demonstrates a real team-first mentality – both equally impressive qualities that have fit our program perfectly.

“Having shown great maturity during his debut season by playing multiple roles for us in defence, Josh’s development will be exciting to watch, and no doubt he will play a key role in helping to drive our club towards future success.”