Hawks test Luke Breust’s voice ahead of possible Kangaroos return

An unusual injury has meant an unusual test for a veteran Hawk racing the clock to be fit for Sunday’s clash with the Kangaroos.

Hawthorn leading goalkicker Luke Breust is ‘not 100 per cent’ leading into Sunday’s clash with North Melbourne, coach Sam Mitchell says. Picture: Darrian Traynor / Getty Images

Hawthorn will assess whether Luke Breust can shout at the volume required to help his teammates before ticking off his return from a painful throat injury.

The vice-captain suffered a bruised larynx in the Hawks’ loss to Carlton two weeks ago and spent more than a week unable to talk, with coach Sam Mitchell saying the return of his voice is a necessity before he can return to the side.

Breust leads Hawthorn’s goalkicking this season with 28 goals from 14 games and could be a crucial presence up forward against a desperate Kangaroos side searching for their first win since round 2 on Sunday.

Mitchell said the Hawks would wait until the last moment to make a decision on the veteran.

“(He’s) not 100 per cent at this stage, his voice is still a bit iffy, but we’ll assess after training today and see how far he can yell,” he said.

Hawthorn leading goalkicker Luke Breust is ‘not 100 per cent’ leading into Sunday’s clash with North Melbourne, coach Sam Mitchell says. Picture: Darrian Traynor / Getty Images

“The bruising has come down, but his voice is a bit scratchy, so we’ll make a decision later on.”

Star defender James Sicily will return after his three-week suspension, with Mitchell pleased by his work during an intensive training block and some coaching work experience.

Mitchell said fellow backman Changkuoth Jiath would play in the VFL barring another last-minute hiccup like the achilles soreness that ruled him out last weekend.

Jiath has not been seen at AFL level since round 9 after battling a calf injury and returned via Box Hill a fortnight ago.

“He played one game on limited minutes last week but then couldn’t get through training (before the GWS game), so a bit of a challenge there,” Mitchell said.

Hawthorn skipper James Sicily will face the Kangaroos following his three-week ban for a dangerous tackle on Brisbane’s Hugh McCluggage. Picture: Michael Klein

“He’ll play at this stage … as long as he gets through training today, he’ll play at Box Hill.”

Mitchell declared tagger Finn Maginness a certain starter against the Kangaroos, although he conceded it had been difficult to fit the elite runner into his side.

Maginness has only started in five games this season, with Mitchell saying a persistent weakness in the Hawks’ game had contributed to his selection struggles.

“Every time (Maginness) plays on someone on the inside obviously it limits some of our other midfielders,” Mitchell said.

“Traditionally mids are either stock-standard midfielders who play there or they come up as a high half-forward.

“One of the challenges we’ve had is whenever we’ve played a high half-forward, we haven’t been able to retain the ball in our forward line, so we can’t afford to play five forwards the way some other teams can. We’ve really had to try to maintain six forwards to try to get it into our front half and lock it in there … Finn’s role over the journey will hopefully be more as a half-forward.”

Originally published as Hawks test Luke Breust’s voice ahead of possible Kangaroos return