HAWTHORN Coach Alastair Clarkson says team balance cost Brad Sewell his place in the side for Saturday’s Preliminary Final against Port Adelaide at the MCG.
The veteran midfielder was the only player axed from the Hawks' side which defeated Geelong in their qualifying final, making way for damaging half-back Matt Suckling.
Sewell, a two-time premiership star who played his 200th game against the Cats, paid the price partly because of the Power's explosive outside speed.
"That's part of it, but we just feel like we're better balanced," Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said on Friday.
"We've got a lot of inside-mids, particularly with the emergence of (Will) Langford who's played some really good footy for us in the second half of the year.
"We just feel like we've got a better balance with Matt Suckling coming into the team."
Clarkson said it was a tough call to omit Sewell, who has forged a reputation as a big-game performer in September.
"He's disappointed, I'm disappointed. He's been an enormous part of this footy club," he said.
"He's also fully aware that it's all about the the team and how we can best progress.
"He'll hope that we win a preliminary final and put himself in the selection mix for next week's game."
Sewell is set to line-up alongside star forward Cyril Rioli in Sunday's VFL Grand Final for Box Hill at Etihad Stadium.
It will be the first game in 12 weeks for Rioli, who will only play if Hawthorn beats the Power, after his drawn out recovery from a hamstring tendon injury.
"He's ready to play. In our wisdom, we think the best approach for it is (for) him to get some confidence in his body at VFL level and get a run," Clarkson said.
"Does that guarantee him a game next week if we happen to progress? We'll just have to wait and see.
"We've been working on this over the last two to three weeks. We feel like and he feels like it’s the best preparation for him in terms of being able to make himself available to play more footy next week.
"He's really comfortable with it, we're really comfortable with it."
