RIOLI GOES DOWN WITH KNEE INJURY

HAWTHORN face a nervous wait to learn how long Cyril Rioli will be out, with the fourtime premiership star suffering a knee injury in the Hawks’ 38point AFL win over Brisbane yesterday in Launceston.

Rioli ( pictured) limped to the bench after crashing into Josh Walker with his left knee in a desperate spoiling attempt and didn’t reappear after three-quarter time in the 17.11 (113) to 11.9 (75) win.

The Hawks were counting the cost of their third win of the season after premiership defender Ben Stratton also went off with a knee injury and was unable to see out the game.

“By and large, we’re pleased with the win but lick our wounds a bit,” coach Alastair Clarkson said.

“We’ve got a couple of injured boys late in the game, so we’ll just have to see how they come out of their scans early next week to determine the extent of their injuries.

“(Cyril’s) is a PCL mechanism and we’ve just got to hope that it’s not a severe injury but we’ve just got to see what’s happening with a scan.”

Adding to Clarkson’s concerns, winger Isaac Smith was reported for striking Nick Robertson, who applied a hard tag to Smith, in the third quarter.

The Lions didn’t escape unscathed, with former skipper Tom Rockliff dislocating his left shoulder in the final term.

Clarkson’s men have struggled to close out games this season, but they led by 29 points at three-quarter time and made sure of the points with a burst of five unanswered goals in the last quarter.

Tom Mitchell was prolific again with 36 possessions for the Hawks, while former Adelaide utility Ricky Henderson enjoyed his best game for his new club with 21 touches and three goals.

Experienced hands Dayne Zorko and Rockliff led for Brisbane with 31 and 30 disposals respectively, while ruckman Stefan Martin had 63 hit-outs in a stoppage-heavy affair.