Hawthorn has dropped Tom Murphy to make way for returning captain Luke Hodge for Saturday's grand final against Sydney.
Murphy's omission was a mere formality after Hodge proved his fitness this week, having missed last Saturday's preliminary final against Adelaide after falling ill with gastroenteritis.
It was the only change made to both grand final teams for the MCG encounter, with the Swans sticking with the same 22 that comfortably downed Collingwood in last Friday night's preliminary final.
Hodge's recovery was confirmed early this week and Murphy, who was the late replacement for the preliminary final, always loomed as the player facing the axe.
"There's always unlucky people at grand final time," Hawthorn coaching director Chris Fagan said earlier on Thursday.
"The strength of the team this year's been our squad, and it's not just the bloke who misses out but the other six or seven players who have trained on - it'll be terribly disappointing for them too.
"But they've helped us get there and been an important part of what we've done."
Murphy has played just six senior matches this season, but they included both of the Hawks' previous two finals.
He made 18 senior appearances in 2008 but was dropped for the preliminary final and could not regain his spot in the side that beat Geelong in the grand final.
It was confirmed earlier this week that the Swans' Ben McGlynn and the Hawks' Brent Guerra had lost their race against time to recover from hamstring injuries.
With forecast wild weather for Saturday in Melbourne, there is still the chance that either side might make a late change.
The Hawks' side includes 10 players who were part of their 2008 grand final win, while Shaun Burgoyne, who played in grand finals with Port Adelaide in 2004 and 2007, is also chasing a second flag.
The Swans' team includes just four veterans of their 2005 premiership - Adam Goodes, Jude Bolton, Ryan O'Keefe and Lewis Roberts-Thomson.
The line-ups:
Grant Birchall, Josh Gibson, Benjamin Stratton
Martin Mattner, Ted Richards, Rhyce Shaw
Matt Suckling, Ryan Schoenmakers, Shaun Burgoyne
Nicholas Smith, Heath Grundy, Alex Johnson
Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Xavier Ellis
Daniel Hannebery, Kieren Jack, Lewis Jetta
Jack Gunston, Lance Franklin, Isaac Smith
Ryan O'Keefe, Sam Reid, Craig Bird
Cyril Rioli, Jarryd Roughead, Luke Breust
Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Adam Goodes, Jarrad McVeigh
David Hale, Luke Hodge, Brad Sewell
Shane Mumford, Josh Kennedy, Jude Bolton
Interchange: Clinton Young, Liam Shiels, Shane Savage, Paul Puopolo
Emergencies: Tom Murphy, Max Bailey, Kyle Cheney
Interchange: Nick Malceski, Mike Pyke, Luke Parker, Mitch Morton
Emergencies: Tommy Walsh, Tony Armstrong, Trent Dennis-Lane
AAP/ABC
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, hawthorn-3122, sydney-2000 First posted September 27, 2012 18:19:26
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