Hawthorn’s Will Day limped off the field during the last quarter of Friday night’s clash against Adelaide. This has worried supporters and the board of directors of the club. Day suffered contorted, extreme cramping during the match. This resulted in umpires controversially calling play off, despite him being more than 50 meters from the play. After the game, Day hobbled home, clearly in agony. To boot, he wore a moonboot on his left foot, which had undergone navicular surgery earlier this spring.
Day takes another blow after challenging campaign. He’s only played six games at the WHL level. The last time we saw him was in Round 3. On the field, last week he returned to action for the Hawks’ Round 1 match against Carlton. In 2024, a comparable injury was limiting him to only 16 games, which had kept him out for most of the year. Given the troubling nature of this reoccurring issue, it casts a dark shadow over his overall fitness and long-term viability to potentially contribute to the team.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell spoke to the situation, saying, “I don’t have an answer yet,” when asked about Day’s status. Mitchell’s doubt is representative of the tension around Day’s injury status as the team approaches the final GameDays of the season.
Against this developing backdrop, Adelaide’s coach Matthew Nicks was understandably incensed that the decision to bring play to a halt was made during the match itself. He commented that it was unfair under the circumstances considering Day’s proximity to the ball-up. Matthew Richardson may have felt the same way, saying “He’s a long way off that ball-up. He was 50 metres away with cramp.”
Critics have already started to wonder what such interruptions in action portend. Even AFL expert Kane Cornes suggested that cramping could be the new strategic loophole that clubs abused. Or how they might use it to benefit them in-game.
Day is still operating on half R&D loads. He’s in recovery from stress-related injuries, leaving his participation in upcoming matches highly uncertain. Xander McGuire noted, “My understanding is Will Day is actually on half training loads at the moment,” adding that it is rare to see him on the training track early in the week.
Via Mitch Cleary, the Hawks are saying he was stomped on earlier in the game and played through it. The club will undoubtedly be uneasy as he’s evaluated in the next 48 hours. This period of assessment will be key in deciding Day’s future availability going forward.
