Luke Breust backs Hawthorn’s trio of tall forwards to be lethal combination
They won’t carry the same hype as Franklin, Roughead and Hale, but Hawthorn is confident its new three-pronged forward line of Jon Patton, Mitch Lewis and Tim O’Brien can cause headaches for opposition defences.
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Small forward Luke Breust has backed Hawthorn’s trio of tall forwards to launch the club to a finals return.
The Hawks will unleash recruit Jon Patton (197cm), Mitch Lewis (198cm) and Tim O’Brien (193cm) in a forward set-up reminiscent of its most recent premiership era.
Alastair Clarkson teamed Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and David Hale in the same attack with great success in 2013, when the Hawks defeated Fremantle in the Grand Final.
The current Hawthorn trio featured together for the first time in the Marsh Series on Thursday, combining for six majors.
“I was more than happy that three big guys, create a contest and make it pretty easy for as smalls to know where to run,” Breust said.
The sharpshooter, who logged 34.17 last season, bagged an equal team-high three majors in the 21-point loss to St Kilda.
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Breust said the Hawks’ new structure remained a work in progress as they ramp up preparations for their Round 1 clash with Brisbane Lions on March 22.
“We are still working through that, just trying to find the best look that we are going to get in our forward line,” he said.
“We had Roughead, Franklin, Hale that used to play as three talls rotating in the ruck with one of those guys.
“We have done it in the past. (It can work) as long as myself, (Paul) Puopolo, (Oliver) Hanrahan, (Darren) Minchington, these sort of guys, can put some forward pressure on as well.”
Former No. 1 pick Patton was traded to Waverley last year after booting 130 goals in 89 games for GWS.
The 26-year-old has not played since Round 15, 2018, after undergoing his third knee reconstruction.
“It’s just going to take some time,” Breust said on SEN.
“We are still building that connection. Especially with guys like Jonny who we haven’t played too much footy with.
“Just getting to know how he leads and what he does in the forward line as well is a challenge in itself. We’ll keep working at that on the track.”
Lewis showed significant promise last year, kicking 20 goals in 12 matches, while O’Brien posted 12.9 from 16 games as a swingman.
Hawthorn plays its next Marsh Series game on March 6 against Melbourne in Launceston.