Luke Breust has re-signed with the Hawks for two years. Picture: Tim Carrafa Source: Herald Sun
LUKE Breust knows just how fickle an AFL career can be, having lived life on the edge throughout his first three seasons at Hawthorn.
As a rookie-listed player on one-year contracts, Breust admits he "could have got the a---" at any time.
When the 22-year-old says how much he appreciates the new two-year deal he has signed with the Hawks, you know he means it.
Breust is tied to Hawthorn until at least the end of the 2014 season.
It's great news for him, but also for Hawks fans, who got to see how talented the dangerous forward is last year when he compiled a season worthy of finishing fourth in the Peter Crimmins Medal count.
The cousin of rugby league legend Trent Barrett has come a long way since the days on the family farm.
When you live on a property of 1000ha 35km out of the nearest town (Temora, NSW, about 100km north of Wagga Wagga), neighbours are few and far between.
To hone his skills Breust would kick to his older brother, Mark, between sheep holding pens - driving his parents to despair - and take shots for goal between the posts the two had placed above the swing set.
It all worked, as he has become one of Hawthorn's most valuable attacking assets. In 2012, 52 per cent of his 374 possessions came among a scoring chain and he was ranked 10th in the competition for scoring impact.
But Breust said if there were one stat he looked at, it was defensive acts.
"If I can get four or five tackles as well as be in the high teens for pressure acts, then I know I'm in the game," he said.
Breust's debut in 2011 came at a time of transition for the Hawks.
It had been a frustrating couple of years since the 2008 premiership and the likes of him, Isaac Smith, Matt Suckling, Liam Shiels, Ben Stratton, Brendan Whitecross, Paul Puopolo, Ryan Schoenmakers and Shane Savage were starting to infiltrate the side.
Breust couldn't help but feel like he was intruding on the class of 2008.
"Now it is as much our team, I think," he said. "We've got a got group of guys around my age or a few years above who have come through and really cemented their spots.
"That's where the biggest improvement is going to come from."
Breust says a frustrating end to 2011 proved the catalyst for his breakout season last year.
"I played the first final and then got dropped for the second final against Sydney and didn't play the prelim against Collingwood either," he said.
"That was definitely a driving factor for me in 2012, and no doubt the Grand Final loss will be a driving factor for me in 2013."
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