Will Day Biography

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has spent the past week in New Zealand with a group of assistant coaches and star players ahead of the start of pre-season.

Free agent signing Josh Battle headed across the Tasman with the club's past two Peter Crimmins Medallists – Jai Newcombe and Will Day – along with Kade Simpson and David Mackay.

The group spent time inside the two most successful organisations in Super Rugby history, visiting the Crusaders in Christchurch and the Blues in Auckland.

They also met with coaches and officials at NRL franchise New Zealand Warriors while on the North Island.

New Zealand Cricket and Rowing New Zealand were also stops on the itinerary, with the Hawks searching for incremental gains after returning to September this year for the first time since 2018.

Will Day could have suffered serious health complications had he played in finals.

The unusual angle of Day's collarbone dislocation suffered last month meant further impact could have pushed the bone into the potentially damaging areas.

"There's no doubt that Will's injury was a challenging one to manage, with our priority from the outset being Will's health and wellbeing," Hawks head doctor Liam West said in a statement.

"While we certainly saw improvement in the stability of the joint and his overall athletic function, we were always conscious of the potential outcome of further impact on the area, which was the reason for our decision to medically rule him out of both of our finals matches."

Will Day will undergo collarbone surgery on Friday to solve the complex injury he suffered against Richmond in round 23.

Day missed the final game of the home and away season and both finals against the Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide after sustaining a partial dislocation of his collarbone near his sternum.

Will Day is ruled out of Hawthorn's 2024 round one clash against Essendon due to a stress fracture in his foot, with a return date still unclear.

Will Day suffers a stress fracture in his foot at training, putting him under a cloud for the start of the 2024 season.

"Will felt some discomfort during training today, so we sent him off for scans where that unfortunately showed a stress fracture in his foot," Hawthorn's high performance manager Peter Burge said.

"He'll spend at least the next few weeks in a moon boot while we further assess the injury and determine the timeline for recovery. During this time period, we will also consult with specialists to ensure we develop the best rehabilitation program for Will."

Will Day claims his first Peter Crimmins Medal as Hawthorn's best and fairest after an impressive 2023 season.

Will Day signs a new four-year deal with Hawthorn to remain with the club until the end of 2027.

"It is incredibly pleasing Will was eager to continue on the journey here at Hawthorn, he is another important part of what we are building for the future," Hawks list manager Mark McKenzie said.

"This long-term deal really solidifies his future in the brown the gold, and we couldn't be happier."

Will Day set to miss a chunk of the 2021 season after sustaining a fracture on his ankle against Richmond that will require surgery.

Will Day is the 2020 round 16 AFL Rising Star nominee after tallying 21 disposals for the Hawks against St Kilda at Metricon Stadium.

Will Day makes his AFL debut for Hawthorn with 16 disposals (10 kicks and 6 handballs), 2 marks and 2 tackles in a 32-point loss to Collingwood.

After being drafted by Hawthorn, Will Day says the Hawks, where his grandfather Robert played in the 1971 flag, was his preferred club but that there was little in the way of communication in the lead up to the draft.

"I really only spoke to them at the start of the year, then they sort of cut the dialogue for a few months," Day said.

"Having grandpa playing there and then also coming to Victoria and being in the home of football was the preference."