Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell seemed neither disgruntled or overly pleased with the online storm sparked by his young forward Jack Ginnivan after his controversial Instagram comment.
Debate over the worth of having high-maintenance players on your list has raged since Ginnivan's trip to the races ahead of the 2023 Grand Final, and continues to surface this finals series, the 21-year-old this time warning Swans ruckman Brodie Grundy of Hawthorn's confidence of advancing this week to meet them in a preliminary final.
One thing the Hawks coach is not concerned about is the potential for extra motivation giving the Power a boost this Friday.
"The way the world operates in that realm is not my expertise," Sam Mitchell told reporters on Wednesday ahead of the semi final clash.
"Port Adelaide have got their season on the line the same way we do."
"We're going into a knockout final. I think both teams are going to be as highly motivated as you could possible hope for."
The thing that may concern the Hawthorn coach at the selection desk is how to replace their outgoing key defender, Sam Frost.
Trialling another young back-up in Ethan Phillips, would be the easiest structural change, but there's a plethora of factors hindering Mitchell, who admits that he's "a little bit torn."
"You obviously can't replace exactly Sam Frost, he's been so important for us and he's had a fantastic season.
"Trying to replace everything about Sam Frost is not going to be done but we obviously need to bring another player in."
Channel 9's Tom morris and the AFL's Josh Gabelich have reported that Jai Serong will the replacement for Frost, leaving the magnets to be shuffled on Sam Mitchell's board.
Jai Serong will replace Sam Frost this Friday against Port for @HawthornFC @FootyonNine @9NewsMelb
— Tom Morris (@tommorris32) September 11, 2024
The right magnet being chosen may rely on what Port Adelaide's forward lineup looks like heading into the match, though the Hawthorn coach will not spend too much time indulging opposition plans for the moment.
"You're always guessing on the opposition's team... once we come up with our plan, where not going to make any late changes according to what they've done."
"If you get caught up too much in the tactics of that then it can distract you."
We can expect the Hawks to bring a similar level of ferocity to last week's elimination final, especially if Zak Butters finds the footy at the coal-face, well-documented to be dealing with considerable rib pain.
No plan to target Butters will be in order, but being the star of the competition that he is - twice voted most courageous by the AFLPA - Mitchell will look to curtail his impact one way or another.
"We won't be talking about it. We like to think that we try to play a physical brand of game and he's been the most courageous player in the competition the last two years... I don't think he's the type of person you'll be able to intimidate," Hawthorn's coach said.
"He's obviously a fantastic player that we've got some contingency's for."
The final major aspect of this battle is champion veteran Luke Breust's 300th outing. He will likely start as the sub for the occasion, though his coach has yet to confirm.
Spending the final stages of his own playing career having mentored a young Luke Breust, Sam Mitchell shared glowing praise in his testament to the three-time premiership Hawk now looking on as his coach.
"300 games coming from the rookie list... I look at hime with such pride now," Mitchell said.
"I spent so much time with him in his first couple of years and now to see the amount of time and effort he puts into our younger players... you have to tip your lid to him."
"Will that give us extra motivation for this game... I think if you need extra motivation for a final, you're probably playing the wrong game."
"We aren't going to tell you just yet (if he'll start as sub).
"The way we've used the sub this year is a bit different. We've used it as a bit of a coaching role and he's been a phenomenal player for us when he's come on, but also on the bench he does add something."
