Hawks recruit Mason Peatling is facing an extended stint on the sidelines, with scans following Saturday's win over South East Melbourne revealing a cheekbone fracture.
The 26-year-old picked up the injury in a friendly fire head clash with Todd Blanchfield late in the third quarter, but it was only post-game that the true extent of knock became apparent.
Having overseen a campaign crippled by injuries last season, coach Jacob Jackomas said the early setbacks highlight the necessity of running a deep squad this season.
"Lucky enough we've got a deep team," Jackomas said.
"With all the talk of how many guys we play, we're able to play eight or nine guys right now because we've kept guys involved.
"It's unfortunate for Mason, I thought he was doing really well. I've been really happy with him, we really needed someone like him, just a solid role player who knows who he is.
"We're going to miss him, we don't know what's going on with Lee, he's a bit sick right now, but we do have next-man-up mentality. We have some guys not playing right now that have been proven in this thing, and then we have some guys that have done well that gain a little bit of extra opportunity.
"If we have a competitive environment all the way through and I can manage it correctly, we'll be in a solid spot going into every game. Sometimes that involves maybe going a little bit deeper into the roster to make sure everyone's feeling the love that way."
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
