AFLX-its continue ahead of Friday night's tournament
Hawthorn stars Luke Breust and Isaac Smith will not play in Friday night's AFLX tournament as the league organises last-minute changes to the squads that were selected at the AFLX draft a fortnight ago.
The pair join Chad Wingard as Hawthorn players who have withdrawn from the tournament with Wingard being nursed back into full training as he overcomes a minor calf injury.
The Hawks are due to play Carlton in a practice match on Thursday afternoon at Ikon Park as they prepare for their first JLT Community Series game against Brisbane in Queensland on March 3.
Smith and Breust may play in the practice match although the Hawks are yet to finalise their squad.
Star Hawthorn midfielder Shaun Burgoyne is vice-captain of The Deadlys squad, which is led by star Adelaide forward Eddie Betts.
There have already been several changes to the tournament squads selected at the draft, with Melbourne's Steven May (hamstring), North Melbourne's Robbie Tarrant (AC joint) and Port Adelaide's Robbie Gray (knee) being replaced as they recover from injuries sustained since the draft was held.
The AFL is expected to finalise squads on Wednesday before players participating in the tournament gather on Thursday with more changes to the original squads likely.
AFLX had a revamp this year after beginning as a lead-in to the season in 2018 with four captains – Betts, Patrick Dangerfield, Jack Riewoldt and Nat Fyfe – selecting teams to play in a hybrid game designed to be played on rectangular fields.
Players involved in the tournament are enthusiastic about being able to showcase their skills alongside the game's best players without coaches to instruct them.
The game coincides with several clubs' practice matches with Geelong and North Melbourne playing this Wednesday, Carlton and Hawthorn playing Thursday and Melbourne and Collingwood playing on Friday morning.
The Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast, GWS and the Sydney Swans are also playing practice matches this week.