Hawthorn star Luke Breust won’t be able to talk for up to two weeks and remains in pain after suffering a bruised larynx in last week’s loss to Carlton.
Coach Sam Mitchell confirmed his premiership teammate would be unavailable to face bogey side GWS in Sydney after the knock to the throat which could sideline Breust for up to two weeks.
“Unfortunately, Luke Breust had a pretty uncomfortable knock on the throat on the weekend and he had some scans today,” Mitchell said.
“He’s still lost his voice, he’s got a bruised larynx … so he’ll be unavailable unfortunately, but the rest of the list is as expected.
“I think he should be available (the week after), apparently he won’t have his voice back for 10 to 14 days but he should be able to (play). It’s just a bit too bruised to risk playing (this week).”
Mitchell said the Hawks were exploring how to improve their young players’ travel routines as they make their eighth visit to Giants Stadium on the weekend, still without a win at the venue.
“We haven‘t had a very good record at all at that stadium, so we need to do a couple of things differently,” Mitchell said.
“We had three players in our back six last week who had less than 20 games and three with less than 10 so they haven’t travelled much.
“Learning how to sleep, do they take their own pillows, what do the eat the night before, they are all challenges you learn as you go along. We’re trying to help them learn quickly.”
Injured pair Changkuoth Jiath and Jarman Impey were to be tested at main training on Thursday, with both set to resume their roles across halfback in the senior side.
“Jiath has got to get through training today, we‘ll see what he is like from a minutes point of view from the medical staff (before making a decision on selection),” Mitchell said.
“He played well at Box Hill and did everything that‘s required … he’s a really important player and big part of the future, so we’re looking forward to getting him back in when we get the chance.”
Mitchell said the Hawks would continue to experiment with using former no. 6 pick Denver Grainger-Barras as a forward in the VFL, after the 21-year-old booted four goals for Box Hill on Saturday.
The West Australian, who is contracted until the end of 2024, has struggled to settle into the senior side as a defender in his three seasons, but impressed with his finishing skills on the weekend.
“No one’s ever questioned his courage and how he goes about it in the air … he was able to do it for a week, and we’ll see how that looks this week,” Mitchell said.
“We’ll continue to monitor him as a forward and see if there’s something there to work with.”
