Clarkson celebrating Roughead's AFL return

Mar 24, 2017 - 12:39 AM Jarryd Roughead is healthy again and everything else takes second place.

The new Hawthorn captain will play his first regular-season AFL match since the 2015 grand final when he leads the team in Saturday night's blockbuster against arch-rivals Essendon at the MCG.

It is a massive game, with the Bombers welcoming back six of the players who served doping bans last season.

Hawthorn are coming off a tumultuous off-season where they traded out all-time greats Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis and landed big-name recruits Jaeger O'Meara and Tom Mitchell.

Then Roughead was one of the key figures behind their spiritual leader Luke Hodge missing this match because of the circumstances behind a missed training session.

But Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said all that really matters is that Roughead has beaten cancer.

"Strangely enough - it seems silly leading into round one - but it's not really about football for Roughy," Clarkson said.

"It's simply about a celebration of him having his health back and about the next 60 years, not the next six months.

"That's what is exciting for us - we're just stoked for his family, his friends and his teammates.

"It's just an added bonus he can run around and play the sport he loves."

While Roughead at his best is one of the league's top players, Clarkson is tempering expectations about what the ruck-forward might produce on the field.

"We spent the whole season without him last year, so anything's a bonus," he said.

"The fact he's back captaining our club is just a little bit of a reflection of the regard he's held by his teammates as well as his football club."

Clarkson, Hawthorn and the rest of the AFL are also unsure about what Essendon might produce this season, given their well-documented circumstances.

The Bombers have a total of 10 players back from doping bans.

"We're not really certain what's going to come from the Bombers - we're preparing for their very, very best, like we always do," Clarkson said.

"There's probably an element of them, themselves, not really knowing what's going to come from the Bombers.

"They could go anywhere from top three or four ... to not making the eight, so there's a bit of intrigue with that."

The Hawks included all four of their recruits from other clubs - O'Meara, Mitchell, Ty Vickery and Ricky Henderson.

But they noticeably left out one or two youngsters who had impressed during the pre-season.

Clarkson said that was a reflection of their depth, not any nod to how big this match against their fierce rivals will be.

Indeed, while Clarkson is well-known for his passionate love of beating Essendon, he straight-batted questions about meeting the Bombers in a game with so much theatre around it.

"Really, this game is no more important than round two or three or four or five," he said.

"I heard on the radio going into the Richmond-Carlton game that whoever loses this game, their season's over."

Source: AAP