AFL 2024: Hawthorn great Luke Hodge’s lighthearted text to veterans Luke Breust and Jack Gunston

A message popped up on Hawthorn forwards Luke Breust and Jack Gunston’s phones after they booked a return to September with their round 24 win.

“Congratulations on another finals campaign – now you know how it feels when I had to control you blokes 10 years ago.”

The text was from their triple premiership captain Luke Hodge, who was comfortable comparing the younger Breust and Gunston to the Hawks’ “rascal pack” including Jack Ginnivan, Nick Watson and Connor Macdonald.

The veteran forward duo shook their heads in disbelief.

“We both wrote back and said, ‘Come on, we weren’t that bad … we weren’t anything like these younger guys now’,” Breust, 33, said.

But the small forward, who will play his 299th game and 19th final against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night, has found the high-octane goal celebrations and self-expression infectious.

“I love it, I’ve embraced it – yes, we don’t get involved in all the celebrations and all the selfies post-game. We sort of pick and choose when we want to get involved,” he said.

“But at the same time, we’re absolutely loving it and invested and all-in on these guys. If that’s what it takes for them to play really good footy and express themselves, then I’m all for it.”

Asked if he had observed a similar dynamic on the eve of a previous finals series, Breust said the atmosphere at Waverley Park felt most like 2012 – a minor premiership season before a defeat to Sydney in a grand final classic.

“We were probably the best team in it that year and ended up getting rolled (by the Swans),” Breust said.

“Each year feels so different … the momentum we have at the moment is definitely some of the best momentum that I’ve been involved in – the confidence and predictability that the guys are playing with at the moment is pretty special.

“So if we can continue to execute that, then who knows what will happen?”

Breust said he was preparing to play a full game against the Bulldogs but would be “completely comfortable” if he remained in the sub role after four consecutive cameos that have yielded five quick goals.

He said he and Gunston, 32, were wary of crowding the young Hawks’ minds with “too many thoughts” when it came for how to prepare for finals, but they were playing an important mentoring role when it came to the unfamiliar timeslot.

“I don’t think I’ve played a night game at the ‘G for 98 games or something, which is silly, but fortunately I did it for a long period of time,” he said.

“Even things like the warm-up, you’ve got an extra five minutes out there with anthems, welcome to country and things like that, so it’s how do you manage that nervous energy pre-game as well.

“That’s going to be the key … the more energy they can conserve on Friday, the better off they are going to be come 7.40pm on Friday night.

“Will they get it right this Friday night? Who knows, but we hope over a longer period of time and into more finals games, they’ll get better at it and be able to handle the occasion.”