Luke Breust of the Hawks celebrates a goal during the Round 23 AFL match between Hawthorn and Melbourne at the MCG. Pictrue: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos

The Smithy’s VFL teams for the preliminary finals.

Three-time Hawthorn premiership forward Luke Breust and club captain Cal Porter have been named for the Box Hill Hawks’ preliminary final clash with minor premier the Footscray Bulldogs at Mission Whitten Oval.

Breust, who announced last month that he would retire at season’s end, didn’t play at any level last week, with his last match being Hawthorn’s Round 24 loss to the Brisbane Lions at the GABBA when he was the activated sub.

The 34-year-old has booted 15 goals in seven VFL appearances this year, including three in his most recent game against Williamstown in Round 17

Porter has been restricted to just 10 matches this year and returns for this first game since the Round 12 win over Coburg.

Footscray has made two changes to the side that beat Frankston by 80 points in the qualifying final a fortnight ago.

The Bulldogs have bolstered their key posts with the return of full forward Jordan Croft and defender Jedd Busslinger, however Taylor Duryea will miss through suspension.

Southport has named an unchanged line-up for the second preliminary final at Fankhauser Reserve to take on Frankston.

The Sharks are aiming for their third Smithy’s VFL Grand Final appearance in four seasons and earned the right to a home preliminary final by upsetting the Box Hill Hawks in the qualifying finals.

Frankston has made one change for its first preliminary appearance since 1997, with Noah Gown included after he was a late out prior to last week’s 11-point semi final win over the Casey Demons.

TICKETS: For matches played in Victoria during Wildcard Finals through to the Preliminary Finals, admission prices will be adults $15, concession/pensioners $10 and children under 15 free. Tickets can be purchased via www.intix.com.au/org/vfl.

BROADCAST AND STREAMING: All matches in the 2025 Smithy’s VFL season will be live streamed free via the AFL website, AFL Live Official App and VFL App. The Seven Network will broadcast one match live and free on 7mate in Victoria and 7plus Sport nationally each week of the finals. This week’s broadcast match will be Footscray Bulldogs vs Box Hill Hawks.

SOUTHPORT SHARKS vs FRANKSTON

Second Preliminary Final
Saturday 13 September, 11:25am, Fankhauser Reserve

SOUTHPORT SHARKS
B: F. Hay (39), M. Spencer (6), M. McGuinness (14)
HB: B. Woodcock (1), N. Williams (30), W. Sexton (11)
C: M. Manteit (4), E. Reardon (26), O. Collins (27)
HF: J. Edwards (21), M. Pescud (42), J. Gore (19)
F: H. Oea (8), W. Buzza (15), C. Lake (33)
R: B. Crossley (20), J. Dawson (3), Z. Foot (2)
INT: J. Joyce (25), K. Gray (17), H. Dixon (29), J. Sexton (16), B. Aston (32)
EMG: C. Webster (22), H. Sullivan (31), J. Krok (44), R. Bowman (7), C. Rowe (40), J. Kennedy (36), J. Lockhart (12), T. Dawson (24)

No change

FRANKSTON
B: T. Owens (7), T. Barlow (3), T. Milne (15)
HB: J. Lloyd (18), J. Smith (25), T. Murphy (5)
C: W. Hamill (9), J. Voss (13), T. Mynott (12)
HF: T. Blamires (23), C. Ellison (4), L. Riley (8)
F: M. Johnson (24), H. Jones (39), B. Lambert (22)
R: H. Coe (16), D. Hipwell (14), N. Burke (17)
INT: A. McComb (20), O. Moran (28), K. Askew (42), N. Gown (1), T. Campbell-Farrell (26)
EMG: T. O’Leary (41), C. Gay (34), M. Nelson (32), A. Grant (19)

IN: N. Gown
OUT: A. Grant (omitted)

Head-to-head: Southport 5-0; At Fankhauser Reserve: Southport 4-0; Streak: Southport Sharks 4; Last time: Southport 22.10 (142) def Frankston 16.6 (102) – Round 9, 2025, Fankhauser Reserve

FOOTSCRAY BULLDOGS vs BOX HILL HAWKS

First Preliminary Final
Saturday 13 September, 2:10pm, Mission Whitten Oval

FOOTSCRAY BULLDOGS
B: J. Busslinger (5), L. Jones (19), M. Sellwood (37)
HB: L. Jaques (11), N. Coffield (17), O. Baker (13)
C: Z. Walker (41), A. Treloar (1), C. Poulter (25)
HF: J. Dolan (26), A. Jones (32), L. Kennedy (35)
F: L. Smith (40), J. Croft (16), C. Hynes (6)
R: R. Gardner (43), A. Scott (28), B. Crofts (54)
INT: D. Orgill (50), C. Craig-Peters (61), W. Lewis (64), J. Kellett (57), F. Valpied (53)
23rd Player: F. Valpied (53)
EMG: D. Cuningham (51), E. Hunt (56), L. Muratore (68), B. Young (67)

IN: J. Busslinger, J. Croft
OUT: T. Duryea (suspended), L. Muratore (omitted)

BOX HILL HAWKS
B: S. Mitchell (40), S. Horner (62), J. Blanck (36)
HB: B. Macdonald (42), J. Serong (29), K. Declase (53)
C: B. Ryan (26), C. Porter (55), C. Mackenzie (28)
HF: J. Scaife (39), L. Breust (22), M. Hill (41)
F: S. Frost (8), N. Reeves (7), W. McCabe (27)
R: M. Ramsden (38), H. Hustwaite (44), C. Anderson (32)
INT: E. Stanley (65), L. Ward (54), T. Bianco (58), J. Arundell (70), S. Durdin (50)
23rd Player: L. Ward (54)
EMG: J. Sammartino (67), B. Simondson (74), B. Cavarra (52)

IN: L. Breust, C. Porter
OUT: M. Lewis (AFL), B. Simondson (omitted)

Head-to-head: Tied 6-6-1; At Mission Whitten Oval: Tied 3-3; Streak: Footscray 2; Last time: Box Hill Hawks 7.12 (54) def by Footscray 11.7 (73) – Round 20, 2025, Box Hill City Oval

UMPIRES

SOUTHPORT SHARKS vs FRANKSTON
FIELD: Andrew Talbot (1), Connor Hawes (12), Joel Clamp (34). Emergency: Cameron Manthey (11)
BOUNDARY: Mitchell Dorling, Benedict Duce, Harrison Hansford, Jake D’Angelo
GOAL: Zachary Mabb, John Varker. Emergency: Tayla Manning

FRANKSTON vs CASEY DEMONS
FIELD: Samuel Whetton (4), Joseph O’Brien (16), Samuel Ferguson (23). Emergency: Jordyn Pearson
BOUNDARY: Samuel Button, Mitchell O’Neill, Harrison Bell, Scott Hansford
GOAL: James Rizio, Georgie Henderson. Emergency: Joshua Hickman