From The Age
Reported by Brent Diamond
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HAWTHORN appears likely to gain some ruck relief with former Bulldogs ruckman Wayde Skipper getting through unscathed in Box Hill Hawks' impressive 22-point win over the Northern Bullants at NAB Oval yesterday.
Skipper said yesterday that he was ready to make his debut for the Hawks and play his first AFL match since round 22 in 2008.
"I'll probably get tested tomorrow or the next day to see how I recover. But my fitness is up and I feel quite confident in my body so I'm ready to go," Skipper told The Age.
The 27-year-old Skipper, who has played just 45 AFL matches, will add some much-needed relief to the Hawks' decimated ruck stocks and said he had a point to prove to his critics after his delisting from the Bulldogs last season.
Box Hill coach Brendon Bolton said it was likely Skipper will be talked about at team selection for Sunday's clash against Richmond - despite nursing him through a half of football yesterday.
"We had very limited game time for him," Bolton said.
"As you know there's not many talls at Hawthorn at the moment so we're looking after him. We could have played him longer today. I think he's got a fair bit left in the tank than what we let go today."
In other matches, Western Bulldogs ruckman Will Minson was best on ground in Williamstown's second-half revival to win by 26 points over the Werribee Tigers, while Stephen Clifton's dominant midfield performance led North Ballarat to an 87-point win over Frankston at Frankston Park.
