Ale broke his arm in the Hawks' 29-15 win over the Bay on July 14 and was initially ruled out for the season.

“He has been cleared by the specialist, has his cast off and is back training building up his aerobic base,” Hamilton coach Scott Coleman said. “He can start load-bearing work - push-ups and getting off the ground –  this weekend and a week before the grand final he moves into contact.”

The Hawks are unbeaten in Ale’s absence.

“It will be hard to start him to be honest,” Coleman said. “We have to get through this weekend or the next one first. He is training hard with the rehab group. The guys know that he is not expecting to walk back in. He is putting in the hard work.”

* Wanderers will meet The Waratahs in the women’s grand final at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday at 4.55pm. The Two Blues beat Merewether 22-17 in a replay of the preliminary final on Tuesday night after lightning forced the match to be abandoned at half-time on Saturday. The Two Blues were behind at the time.

* Hamilton’s 2016 premiership winning halfback  Daiyu Ishimori has signed a one-year professional deal with Japanese top tier club Honda Heat.

* In a rarity, Hamilton will meet Merewether in every premier grade on Saturday, starting with the under-19s grand final at 9am.

* In a coup, BarTV will livestream all the Hunter junior grand finals at Ernie Calland Oval on Saturday, starting with the under-10s at 8am.