Sam Frost made his tentative first steps back towards a full training load this week, running for the first time on grass in his return from a broken foot suffered in Hawthorn’s Elimination Final victory over the Bulldogs.
Whilst positioned at fullback against the dangerous Bulldogs forwards led by Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Aaron Naughton, Frost cruelly sustained the injury that derailed his first finals campaign for the Hawks late in a win he played a major role in orchestrating.
Frosty played a tremendous role in the win, keeping the enigmatic JUH to four touches and one behind on the night and proving how pivotal he was to our team’s defensive structure.
Such is the character of the player named “Best Clubman” for season 2024, Frost courageously played the game out, wanting to ensure he didn’t leave the team undermanned in such a high stakes game at the MCG.
Despite having his season ended abruptly, the defender continued to be present at the club in the lead up to their Semi Final clash against Port Adelaide, offering support to fellow members of the back six who would be tasked with attempting to fill the gaping hole left by the underrated defender.
Come the 2024 offseason, Frosty had offers from rival clubs, led by grand finalist Sydney, who tried to lure the veteran away from Bunjil Bagora, however he was keen to stay and seek success at the Hawks where he has been a stalwart in defence since he arrived at the club back in 2020.
Throughout the last couple of months, Frost has slowly graduated to walking after losing the crutches and moon boot, but has been unable to do much more as he waited for the break to continue healing.
Though slower than he would have liked, positive signs have begun to show in Frost’s recovery, including him running at 75% body weight on the Alter-G treadmill a fortnight ago which marked his first official jog in more than three months.
As previously mentioned, Frost has since been able to build upon this milestone, as on Wednesday this week, he made his triumphant return by having a short trot at training, before stretching out in front of a bumper crowd of brown and gold supporters at Waverley Park.
The road to recovery hasn’t been easy for the new father, who recently welcomed his first child with his partner Laura, but now that he is back out there with the main group, he will no doubt be training with the same heart and determination he exhibits on game day.
Currently sitting at 92 games for the Hawks (and 183 in total), and with one season left on his contract, Frost will be aiming to make it to 100 games for the Hawks in 2025, whilst also showing Sam Mitchell why he should get an extension to stay at the club.
Though some believe, new key defensive additions including Tom Barrass and Josh Battle may complicate his place in the team come Round 0, 2025, Frosty will be vying to nail down a position in Hawthorn’s backline and ensure “Frostball” continues to be a core aspect of “Hokball” come Hawthorn’s 2025 Season opener against Sydney at the SCG.
