The praise for emerging young star James Worpel continues to grow, with teammate Luke Breust declaring the fourth-gamer an important part of the Hawks’ run to the finals.

Taken with Pick 45 in last year’s draft, the 19-year-old produced a standout performance in Hawthorn’s 72-point win over Carlton on Sunday with Breust joining coach Alastair Clarkson in acknowledging the midfielder’s impressive display.

“It’s nearly a breakout game for him,” Breust told SEN Breakfast on Monday.

“He had a couple of games earlier in the season, got a bit of a taste for it but went back to the VFL (and) got some form back.

“(So) he should continue to be an important player for us over these next four or five weeks heading into finals.”

Worpel gathered 32 disposals in the clash along with four tackles and five inside 50s, while 14 contested possessions highlighted his hard-at-it work in the clinches, with Breust even comparing his ability to hunt the ball to that of a certain teammate and elite ball magnet.

“Like Tommy Mitchell his grunt work around the footy, and I thought his disposals – especially by foot yesterday – were really smart,” Breust said.

“He’s going to be a handy player for us.”

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The triple-premiership forward also said that the side’s confidence in playing a significant part in this year’s finals series continued to grow, despite some recent up-and-down performances, with the Hawks’ best well and truly capable of matching it with any team.

“That’s what we’ve been building towards, (finals),”

"It’s just been a constant challenge to continue to have that mindset I think.

“Against quality sides we always bring it, but it’s against those lower sides that we sometimes lower our colours like we’ve seen this season.

“So, we’ll continue to build that belief and when everyone’s on I think we’re certainly a chance to knock anyone off.”