The 30-year-old will make his return from a corked thigh in Saturday's AFL clash with Sydney at the SCG as the Suns look to end a nine-game losing run.

For most players a cork means a couple of weeks on the sidelines at most, for Hanley it's meant over a month out after having emergency surgery to relieve pressure in mid-May.

The unusual extent of Hanley's cork is just typical of a player who hasn't been able to catch a break since joining the Suns from Queensland rivals Brisbane at the end of 2016.

Since then the 30-year-old has appeared in just 23 AFL matches as injury and a personal tragedy limited his availability.

"It's frustrating, because ... he's a really important part of our side and exciting to watch," Dew said.

"He's back in, his magnet's on the board.

"He had a really good pre-season and the corked thigh, one that came up and they're a little bit rare.

"Aside from that, all his little niggles he'd got right on top of and was in good shape and I guess that's why he can come straight back in after missing some weeks. In the past we wouldn't be as confident."

It's not just been physical issues hampering Hanley during his time at the Suns, with the death of his brother Tommy from cancer in 2017 aged just 16 also taking its toll.

Dew said teammate Jarrod Witts deserved a lot of credit for the support he and his partner Renee provided to Hanley during that time.

"He's resilient, obviously, Pearce and the off-field stuff we can't really even put ourselves in that space because - well I certainly haven't experienced anything like that," he said.

"It shows a good support and Jarrod Witts has been fantastic for him. They live together and I think just having him there is a - I don't know if it's brother or father figure, I'll let them work that out - but they're good for each other.

"They've helped him through this."

Australian Associated Press