Utas Stadium stage set for 3 key selection boosts as Hawks and Suns open huge Anzac Day
The spotlight lands early on Utas Stadium, where Hawthorn and Gold Coast begin a packed Anzac Day program with more than just points on the line. The Hawks arrive with momentum, the Suns with questions still to answer, and both clubs have made changes that could shape the contest before the first bounce. In a round built around significance, this meeting also carries its own edge: form, selection, and a recent head-to-head pattern that gives the afternoon an unusually tight tactical frame.
Utas Stadium and the form line shaping the contest
Hawthorn enters the clash at 5-1 after stringing together five wins in a row, a response that has pushed a sluggish start to the season into the background. Gold Coast sits at 4-2 after edging Essendon, but the Suns are still trying to prove they belong among the leading contenders after back-to-back defeats to Melbourne and Sydney. That contrast matters because the game is not being framed as a routine home assignment; it is a test of whether Hawthorn can keep its surge intact while returning to a venue where it has won 10 in a row.
For Gold Coast, the attraction is equally clear. The Suns have won their past three meetings with Hawthorn and five of the last six, a record that gives them a genuine counterweight to the venue narrative. Yet their Launceston challenge remains unresolved: this is their seventh attempt to claim a first victory there. That tension makes utas stadium more than a backdrop. It is part of the story, because the venue has become a place where Hawthorn expects control and Gold Coast still seeks proof.
Selection calls raise the stakes before the first bounce
The changes add another layer. Hawthorn has made five changes, with veteran forward Jack Gunston returning after his corked calf was managed last week. Jack Scrimshaw, Finn Maginness, Harry Morrison and Jack Dalton have also been recalled. Missing are suspended pair James Sicily and Dylan Moore, while Will McCabe has been omitted and Flynn Perez and Sam Butler are being managed.
Gold Coast has named two notable inclusions of its own, with skipper Noah Anderson back after an appendix issue and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan selected for his first AFL game in 596 days after leaving the Western Bulldogs in the off-season. Joel Jeffrey and Charlie Ballard have been omitted. Those personnel moves matter because they shift the balance of expectation: Hawthorn must absorb the loss of two important names, while the Suns get leadership and a major comeback story in the same package. In a game where margins have already been tight in both clubs’ recent histories, the selection sheet itself becomes part of the match preview.
What the recent results suggest about control and response
Hawthorn’s recent wins have not come from domination alone. The Hawks had to hold off Port Adelaide in a thriller and found a way to win even when their attacking weapons were locked down in defence. That detail matters because it suggests a side that has learned to survive when the preferred route is blocked. A challenging run of games is ahead, so this is an opportunity to bank another win in a familiar setting.
Gold Coast’s latest win over Essendon was more about getting across the line than finishing strongly. The Suns had also been beaten by Melbourne and Sydney, so the question is not whether they can produce moments of quality, but whether they can sustain them across four quarters. That is where utas stadium becomes a pressure point: the venue, the recent record, and the occasion all combine to turn one afternoon into a test of composure as much as talent.
ANZAC context and the broader meaning of the match
The match also sits within a wider Anzac Day program and includes a special edition ANZAC guernsey for Hawthorn, designed to honour soldiers who have served and played for the club. The club’s ANZAC products also carry a donation component for the RSL’s 2026 ANZAC Appeal. A ceremonial tribute is set for 30 minutes before ball-up, delivered in partnership with RSL Tasmania and featuring contributions from members of the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Australian Navy.
There is also the Alec Campbell Cup, awarded in memory of all those who have served in the Australian and New Zealand armed forces. Campbell, described by the club as the world’s last Gallipoli veteran, was a local boy from Launceston and a proud Tasmanian. That gives the fixture a clear place in the day’s commemorations, while also tying the sporting contest to a local story of remembrance and identity. The result will matter, but so will the tone set around it.
For both clubs, the wider impact is immediate. Hawthorn can use this stage to deepen the belief built over its five-game winning streak, while Gold Coast can use a rare away breakthrough in Launceston to reinforce its case as a serious contender. In a round shaped by tradition, the question at utas stadium is whether form, selection and history will align for Hawthorn again, or whether the Suns can finally change the script.
