HAWTHORN will go into the grand final tomorrow with the same team that delivered the club its first grand final berth in 17 years.

One of the more contentious selection issues that has swirled around the Hawks this week was whether they would stick with first-year ruckman Brent Renouf, who has been with the team through the past month following an injury to Simon Taylor.

But the Hawthorn selection committee stuck with Renouf, and the 20-year-old from Queensland will play in a grand final in only his eighth senior game.

"When it comes to a guy playing in a grand final, I think they're all really tough decisions," assistant coach Damien Hardwick said yesterday.

"We've just got to go in with the best strategy we think can combat that awesome Geelong side."

The coaching panel's intention to retain Renouf in the side was perhaps foreshadowed when he and Robert Campbell took part in tap drills while Taylor continued to train with the main group.

As they trained before some 10,000 fans in idyllic spring conditions, one surprise was the presence of Tim Clarke, who has not played since round 14, out on the ground.

But that's where the surprise ended and Clarke was not named in the squad.

The other potentially contentious decision was the omission of medium-sized defender Tom Murphy, who was dropped to make way for Stephen Gilham last week.

Murphy performed well in his time on Geelong livewire Steve Johnson when the teams last met in round 17.

Murphy, Taylor and Travis Tuck have all been named as emergencies, and could take part in the game if some misfortune befalls any of the 22 players named in the starting side.

Hardwick said it was inevitable that with so much depth at the Hawks, there would be disappointments at the selection table.

"We've probably got a squad of 28 who could quite easily play," he said.

"There's going to be quite a few blokes who are heartbroken, but footy is a very harsh and hostile environment and it's going to hurt some guys.

"As coaches, we have to make those hard decisions and pick the best 22 we think are going to get us over the line."

The inclusion of Renouf means that Hawthorn will have two first-year players in its squad. Cyril Rioli, who has played every game this year, also made his debut in 2008.

Hawthorn's football manager, Mark Evans, said the pair's selection was a credit to their maturity.

"I think our young players have demonstrated a good level of maturity at handling the opportunities that they've had to date — Cyril from day one, and Brent in more recent times — but we couldn't be more pleased with their progress," he said.

One player who many pundits have hotly anticipated watching in a grand final is spearhead Lance Franklin, despite a quiet game last week against St Kilda.

"He doesn't generally put two bad games together, as he says, so we're looking forward to a really good result from him this weekend," Evans said.