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HAWTHORN star Matt Suckling is ready and raring to go for Saturday's AFL preliminary final with Port Adelaide.
Suckling has spent the past three weeks on the sidelines nursing a knee injury but is confident of being declared fit to return for Saturday's blockbuster in front of an expected crowd of 70,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Suckling has been back in full training for a week and only needs to get through the Hawks' major session today to be declared fit and available for selection.
Suckling is ready to make his return.
"I'm a pretty good chance," Suckling told The Daily Advertiser on Wednesday.
"I've only missed the two games, I was lucky that we had the week off last week and it's given me some extra time.
"I trained with the boys on Friday and again on Monday and have pulled up pretty well.
"I've just got to get through the final session (Thursday) then I'll put my hand up."
Positions in the Hawthorn team are hard to come by at the moment.
There has been much speculation about who will come out of the team if Cyril Rioli and Suckling come in.
Suckling, 26, expects to come back into the team.
"I've got to get through training and as long as it feels okay and pulls up well then I'll be available for selection," he said.
"All indications have been that if I'm fit and healthy that I'll come back in."
Suckling played in every one of Hawthorn's first 21 games this season before missing the final round win over Collingwood, and the qualifying final win over Geelong.
He is getting over an unusual kneecap injury that will see him go in for surgery at the season's end.
Suckling missed Hawthorn's premiership last year with a knee injury and does not want to be on the sidelines again.
"It's obviously disappointing sitting watching the boys go round but they did a good job and were exciting to watch," he said.
"After playing 21 games straight, it actually wasn't the worst thing to have a little freshen up."
Suckling said last year's experience has not come into his thought process a great deal.
"These are the games you don't want to miss out on, last year I sat through all the big games and watched the boys do their thing," he said.
"This is my chance to do what the boys achieved last year.
"It's in the back of my mind a little bit but it's hard to draw on it because it was 12 months ago.
"It is there at the back of the head but you don't actually draw on it as such."
Suckling, a 75-game player at Hawthorn, has only played in the one grand final back in 2012 when Sydney prevailed.
The East-Wagga Kooringal and Wagga Tigers junior said it is exciting to be just one game away from another chance on the biggest stage of all.