Meehan is home in time for Hawks’ finals campaign

INVERLEIGH has received a massive boost ahead of tomorrow’s elimination final against East Geelong, with star midfielder-forward Casey Meehan returning from overseas.

Meehan hasn’t played since Round 11, but will be a timely addition to the Hawks outfit after spending the past seven weeks in London studying at The British School of Osteopathy. The Hawks boast a 9-2 record with Meehan in the side but have won just four of seven without him.

Coach Adam Donohue described his inclusion as “massive”.

“I think I stated three or four weeks ago, ever since he left we’ve struggled a bit,” he said.

“But whilst he’s really important for us, we’re not relying on him coming back after six weeks off to dominate.

“We still need to have other individuals step up as well, but hopefully he can step back into it pretty easily.

Jakeb Templeton (shoulder) and Ben Bouwman (throat) were also expected to play pending fitness tests on Thursday night.

Bouwman escaped surgery this week after it was feared his season was over.

“He rang me (Wednesday) morning and said, ‘They reckon I might need surgery, I might be done for the year’ and I thought, ‘ Oh, God’,” Donohue said. “And then he rang me probably an hour later and said they’re now saying surgery won’t really help much, so I think he’ll be right to go.

“They’ll be two handy additions for us.”

The Hawks have put a line through Daniel Grozdanovski (hand) and Jordan Drew (shoulder) after injuries in the loss to Werribee Centrals in Round 17.

“Both done for the year, unfortunately,” Donohue said.

“Dan (has a) fractured scaphoid in his hand and Jordy Drew (has injured his) shoulder.

“They’re two pretty big outs, particularly Jordy with his speed and fitness on St Albans, but hopefully the other boys can cover them.”

Josh Bouwman has been a welcome addition to Inverleigh’s side in recent weeks, boasting 23 goals from five games including a haul of 14 against Corio last week.

“He didn’t kick many, did he?” Donohue quipped.