Luke Breust admits it will be almost impossible to replicate goalkicking feats in 2015

#AFL #HawthornFC

“HAWTHORN livewire Luke Breust admits it will be virtually impossible to replicate his goalkicking precision next year, but believes he’s far from the finished article.

Breust, the NSW rookie who has exploded into a lethal All-Australian and two-time premiership player, took the competition by storm last season with a freakish 57.12 return.

He tied Tony Lockett’s record for 29 consecutive goals without a behind and, seemingly with ice in his veins, went nearly three months without missing.

But Breust, who posed for the club’s Made From Brown and Gold membership campaign, said he couldn’t expect history to repeat itself.

“I haven’t thought about it too much, but 29 straight, you’re probably never going to do it again,” Breust said.

“In terms of goal tallies I probably won’t be up anywhere near that. If the accuracy stays at a satisfactory level then I’ll be happy with that.”

He acknowledges the well-publicised pursuit of “Plugger’s” record spooked him in the end, leading to him passing up set shots he would normally take.

The streak most consumed him in the Round 16 defeat of North Melbourne. “I certainly remember that game. I can’t remember which players, but they were pretty quick to mention the streak and say things like: ‘You wouldn’t want to mess it up now’ and all that,” Breust said.

“Then when I had that shot on the boundary and passed it off to Sammy Mitchell, in the past I would have had a shot. That was probably the only real time I really thought about the streak in game.

“To equal Plugger’s record, I’m happy to sit alongside him.”

The irony is that Breust arrived at Hawthorn as a skinny teenager with knocks on his kicking. His first five games were spent with Box Hill reserves and as recently as early 2011 he was playing VFL.

But he would turn that season into his breakout year, booting 30 goals before going on to register 45.25 in 2012 and 40.13 in 2013. Last season’s 57-goal haul was made all the more impressive by his team-high 30 goal assists (2nd in the AFL).

It’s been a swift, but incredibly consistent, rise to the elite level.

“It certainly does feel as though it’s been a pretty quick transition,” he said.

“It sort of all came together for me early in my third year. I got a chance and grabbed it. The last four years have just flown, it’s been crazy.

“One thing I like to pride myself on is the consistency and I think I’ve been able to achieve that over the last few years. It’s not easy, the half-forward position, but if I give myself the best chance to have a couple of shots at goal, nail a few tackles and play my role, that’s all I need to do.”

That role will again involve some midfield stints next year, which is where the crafty goalkicker feels he can enhance his game.

“That will be one of the focuses for me during pre-season; to continue to try and master that midfield craft and learn from the excellent midfielders we’ve got around here.”

 

Sam Edmund

Herald Sun 16/12/14




Sign up

for OMP email updates