AS THE siren sounded to bring Hawthorn’s 2011 finals campaign to a close, forward Luke Breust looked on from the stands.
He was dropped by Coach Alastair Clarkson for the semi-final win over Sydney and didn’t find his way back for the preliminary final loss to Collingwood.
It was a moment in his short career that hurt. He felt the pain of the loss. The pain of feeling helpless. The pain of watching as his teammates dropped to the ground as reality hit. Hawthorn’s year was over, it wouldn’t be playing in the grand final.
Fast forward a year, and Breust is preparing to play in his first AFL Grand Final.
And more than that, he looms as an important player as the Hawks’ strive for the
ultimate success.
‘Punky’ says the pain of missing two finals last season has served as the motivation to take his game to the next level.
“I didn’t have any doubt, it was probably the driving force for this year,” he told hawthornfc.com.au
“I played the first final last year which was a great experience but then to get dropped and watch them lose the prelim was pretty hard.
“It was a driving force this year and probably one of the reasons behind why I’ve had a good season.”
By the time pre-season rolled around, a motivated and committed Breust was willing and ready for a hard slog on the track and in the gym.
He was prepared to do whatever it took to improve his game, to ensure he wouldn’t be dropped for a final in 2012.
The 21-year-old believes his hard work has paid off.
“I had a strong pre-season again and felt like I had a good off-season in the weights room as well and got a little bit bigger and stronger,” he said.
“I think that’s held me in really good stead for the season.”
And he’s right.
More than ever, supporters donning the brown and gold at the MCG have chanted “breuuuuuuust”, as the speedy forward kicks a goal or gets the ball.
On average, the chant echoes around the MCG 16 times, Breust’s disposal average this season.
His season has featured many highlights, including a five-goal haul against Collingwood in the Round 17 win.
But there’s none bigger than his performances in the two finals so far.
Breust’s 19 disposals, seven tackles and two goals saw him named in the Hawks’ best in the qualifying final win over Collingwood. He was electric and, at times the one who cleanly handled the ball when no one could.
Then, 23 disposals and two goals against the Crows last weekend have Hawks fans excited by what he can do on the biggest day on the AFL calendar.
In the tail end of the season, he has joined the midfield depth at the Hawks, enjoying more time up the ground.
It has helped him too, to develop his relationship with Cyril Rioli and the now-injured Brendan Whitecross.
“The second half of the year has been good between myself, Cyril and Brendan Whitecross when he was playing,” he said.
“We’ve been able to rotate through the midfield and its been good.
“Half forward can be a bit of a graveyard sometimes so to get up the ground and into the game, it can help a fair bit.”
For a player in just his third year at AFL level, Breust has a cool head on his shoulders.
His approach to the finals, and the biggest match of his career to date, is one beyond his years.
“I was pretty relaxed going into the game, I didn’t really try and think about it too much,” he said.
“We had a long break time between the first final and the prelim, we had about 14 days so I didn’t try to play it over in my head too much.
“I just tried to relax and when that first bounce went to get into the game and get a few early touches helps settle the nerves and went from there.”
Kate Salemme is a member of Hawthorn Football Club's Digital Media team reporting exclusively for hawthornfc.com.au from the Ricoh Centre.
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