Hawks’ Breust flying fit for final

This article first appeared in the Daily Advertiser

By Matt Malone

Breust is nice and relaxed this week as he prepares with his Hawthorn teammates for their shot at redemption in the AFL grand final against Fremantle on Saturday.

The 22-year-old young gun is yet to be hit by nerves and explained the experience of last year’s grand final has held him in good stead so far this week.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Breust told The Daily Advertiser.

“The nerves probably won’t come until we do the grand final parade later in the week.

“I’ll still get a few as the week goes on but I’m just looking forward to the weekend more than anything else.

“All the boys other than Bradley Hill and Brian Lake have all experienced a grand final before so we know what to expect and we’ve come into this week knowing what’s coming.

“Nothing is foreign. We’ve done one now, we know what it’s like and we’re enjoying it and can embrace it.”

Breust kicked two goals and was among Hawthorn’s best in last year’s AFL grand final when the Hawks went down in a nail biter by 10 points.

It was part of a phenomenal year from Breust, who finished fourth in Hawthorn’s best and fairest as a young small forward.

Breust revealed last year’s grand final defeat has been a source of motivation and has only made the Hawks hungrier for success.

“It has a significant impact,” Breust said.

“The year before (last) I got dropped for the second final and I used that a bit for my 2012 season.

“This year the grand final loss has been the motivation for the 2013 season.

“They’re the two significant factors that have driven me both years.”

Hawthorn ended the “Kennett Curse” last Friday night when accounting for Geelong to book its place in a second consecutive grand final.

Breust acknowledged Fremantle will be tough opposition but maintains there is a strong belief inside the Hawks’ camp that they can get the job done.

“I’d say there is good confidence in the group,” Breust said.

“We’ve got confidence in the game plan and being able to execute it at the right times.

“We’ve had 19 wins and three losses through the regular season and we had a pretty tough season too.

“I think we played seven finalists from the previous year in the first seven rounds and played a fair few of the top teams twice so it’s not like we’ve had it easy.”

A large contingent of family and friends will travel from Temora and the Riverina to support Breust at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.

His mum Denise, dad Allan, siblings Rebecca and Mark, partner Anthea will all be there, along with plenty of school mates and friends.