East Wagga-Kooringal defender Max Tiernan to miss finals with a lung issue

Tiernan was crunched in a marking contest early in last Saturday's loss to The Rock-Yerong Creek at Victoria Park and spent the night in hospital with a lung issue.

It was found that Tiernan's lungs had moved away from his chest cavity but he was released from Wagga Base Hospital on Sunday.

The latest injury continues a horror run for Tiernan, who only returned from a knee reconstruction mid-season and had recently experienced shoulder problems as well.

EWK coach Matt Hard confirmed Tiernan would play no part in the Hawks' finals campaign for a second straight season.

"He's home, he spent the night in hospital but he's a sore boy. And yep, we've put a line through Max," Hard said.

"You look at Max, he's 20-years-old, he's come back mid-season from a knee reconstruction, he's gone down twice with separate shoulders, now this, it's time to save Max from Max, I guess.

"He's the ultimate team person, he's the ultimate clubman and he'll be missed the remainder of the year but knowing Max, he'll be there around the boys and he'll be positive.

"He's as tough as they come."

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Tiernan has spent time at both ends of the ground this season since his round eight return from injury.

Hard hopes he can find his way back next year and realise his full potential.

"He's got heaps of potential. Prior to his knee last year he was playing centre-half-back for us and doing it really well," Hard explained.

"You forget how much of a key player he is at such a young age but his body has just been through the ringer."

Tiernan joins the likes of Nick Hull, Xavier McDevitt and Dan McCarthy who have now succumbed to season-ending injuries.

In better news for the Hawks, Nathan Baker and Liam Hard will both be available for Sunday's elimination final against Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Maher Oval.

Baker copped a heavy knock in the second term of the loss to TRYC last Saturday and did not return, while Hard failed to finish the game due to tightness in his quad.

A further boost will be the return of captain Luke Cuthbert from a shoulder injury and experienced key defender Trent Garner from a hamstring complaint.

"They'll both come back in," he said.

"Trent obviously did the running (last Saturday), we weren't going to risk him so he'll come back in.

"We're pretty confident Luke will come back in. He's obviously got to get through the week so we'll see how that goes."

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