Hawthorn stars Isaac Smith and Luke Breust withdraw from AFLX but will play club scratch match

Luke Breust and Isaac Smith have pulled out of Friday night’s AFLX tournament but Hawthorn fans need not be alarmed — the pair have instead chosen to play a club match a day earlier.

Luke Breust won’t play AFLX. Pic: AAP

Isaac Smith and Luke Breust have chosen a four-day training break over the league’s much-hyped AFLX tournament after pulling out of Friday’s contest.

Both of the AFL stars are fit but will instead take part in an Ikon Park practice match on Thursday before taking the weekend off.

The decision is a slap in the face for the high-profile tournament, which has been promoted as 50 of the league’s best players being pitted against each other.

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They join Robbie Gray, Chad Wingard, Steven May and Joel Hamling as withdrawals, although that quartet all pulled out through injury.

It comes as the league advertises cut-price $10 tickets and also offers AFL members and juniors free tickets to the event.

Smith and Breust made the decision themselves without any pressure from Hawthorn, having informed the league last week.

Luke Breust will have a four-day break. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Isaac Smith is also dodging AFLX. Pic: Getty Images

The Hawks have an AFL-mandated four-day break from Friday to Monday, and in coming weeks play two JLT games against Brisbane and Richmond with only a six-day break in between.

The Hawks travel in both of those games — to Moreton Bay and Tasmania — so their players will have few chances to get a break before the season proper.

Hawthorn’s view is that the players were less likely to be injured in AFLX than a game against Carlton so were happy for them to play in the Friday exhibition tournament.

But instead they will get valuable match practice on Thursday, with Breust keen to get back to his home town of Temora over the Hawks long weekend.

Hawthorn football boss Graham Wright told the Herald Sun it was simply a matter of timing for the players to sidestep AFLX.

Jack Gunston is sore. Pic: Getty Images

“From our perspective it was more about where it sat in their programs and what they wanted to do. The AFL would like us to support it and we do but the players didn’t feel like it sat in their programs.”

When the AFL approached Hawthorn players pre-Christmas eight were keen to play but interest has dwindled and some suffered genuine injuries as the tournament approached.

Tom Mitchell broke his leg, Wingard is battling a calf issue, Jack Gunston is sore and only Shaun Burgoyne will play as the Deadly vice-captain.

All-Australian Gunston will be off his legs for five or six days with a tight iliotibial band — the tissue running down the outside of the thigh.

The AFL approached other high-profile Hawks last week — when it became aware Breust and Smith weren’t playing — but they declined to take part.

The AFL hopes Marvel Stadium is full on Friday night.

It comes as the league declines to give a crowd estimate of Friday night’s AFLX tournament as more stars withdrew from the tournament.

The league is adamant fans will be thrilled when the witness the cream of the crop participating in an AFLX shootout featuring 50 of the AFL’s best stars.

Last year’s Melbourne AFLX tournament featuring six Victorian teams drew over 22,500 fans, with the three tournaments in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney drawing a combined crowd of 42,730.

But that competition had the pull of tribalism through traditional team colours, with the AFL unsure how many fans will watch the four new teams — Deadly, Rampage, Bolts and Flyers.

For that contest in Melbourne the league had anticipated a crowd of 20,000, which would be about par for Friday’s contest.

Originally published as Hawthorn stars Isaac Smith and Luke Breust withdraw from AFLX but will play club scratch match