Callum Ah Chee presses for Hawthorn return after two months
Callum Ah Chee is pressing for selection for Thursday night’s clash against Hawthorn after two months out of the AFL with hamstring injuries. The Kuwarna recruit said he is confident the problems are behind him as Adelaide heads to Launceston in eighth spot.
Ah Chee on the comeback trail
He has not played at AFL level for two months, with the interruption built around a tear in round two and a strain in February while playing for Western Australia against Victoria in AAMI AFL Origin. Ah Chee returned in state league ranks on May 9, but the last weekend’s SANFL bye left him without a game before the Hawthorn selection call.
“It has been frustrating,” Ah Chee said to reporters on Monday. “Obviously I wanted to come here and show what I'm capable of and it has been a little bit up and down with the hamstrings.”
“But that's for me to work through... I would have loved to be on the park but I'm looking forward to getting back out there now and putting all that behind me.”
Adelaide's selection pressure
The Crows’ push for the utility comes with real stakes. Adelaide has won five of its past six games and sits in eighth spot, while Hawthorn is sixth after a 39-point loss to Narrm on Saturday. The trip to Launceston arrives before Adelaide’s bye, so the match is the last chance to lock in form before the break.
That is why Ah Chee described the game in practical terms. “It would be a massive, massive win,” he said about the clash against Hawthorn. “We're really starting to build our brand of footy... it would be great to go get a win away, and then come back and rest up afterwards heading into the bye.”
He also put the challenge plainly. “It's not going to be easy. They're obviously coming off the back of a loss and looking to bounce back, so it's going to be a tough contest.”
Hawthorn in Launceston
Adelaide now has to decide whether to bring Ah Chee straight back into a side that has steadied without him. His return would add another option after a stop-start stretch that began when he joined the Crows at the end of last season following two premierships with Brisbane.
For Ah Chee, the immediate focus is simple: prove the body holds up well enough to get back in. For Adelaide, the call comes with an away game against a sixth-placed opponent and a bye waiting on the other side.
