Hawthorn defender Josh Gibson still warrants a place in the Hawks' senior side despite the emergence of younger options, key forward Jack Gunston says.
Gibson's future has been a constant talking point this season amid Hawthorn's struggles and his own after starting the season at 33 years of age.
A groin injury is set to sideline the dual club best and fairest for another three weeks and the Hawks' backline stood up superbly without him in the upset victory over Adelaide last week.
NAB AFL Rising Star nominee Ryan Burton, Blake Hardwick, Kaiden Brand and James Sicily – all 23 or younger – performed strong roles against the Crows.
Premiership players Ben Stratton and James Frawley are both expected to beat Gibson back onto the field from their own injuries, so the 2015 All Australian finds himself in a fight for his position.
"I guess that's up to the coaches, but I don't see why not," Gunston said about Gibson earning selection once he recovers.
"There's plenty of room down there for all these types of players – they can play tall, they can play small. It's an opportunity to see if a Kaiden Brand can play on a smaller guy at times or a James Frawley can.
"They've got the speed, so it causes some selection squeeze if they are all coming back, but it's a good problem to have."
Hawthorn is still clinging to finals contention, but sits two wins and almost 20 percentage points behind eighth-placed St Kilda entering Sunday's MCG rematch with Collingwood.
The Pies delivered a telling blow to the Hawks last month, recovering from 43 points behind in the second quarter to stun Alastair Clarkson's men by three goals.
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Hawthorn went on to edge out Sydney a week later and had won consecutive matches before the Collingwood defeat, so an extra victory would have been helpful.
"It's definitely not regret, but they're games we want to be winning, especially when we finally got on the board and got a few wins going," Gunston said.
"It was one we definitely dropped. I think we lost by three goals in the end, so it was definitely a winnable game and we'll be going out there to turn the tables this Sunday."
Gunston was unable to explain the Hawks' Jekyll and Hyde performances, including triumphs over top-eight sides Adelaide, West Coast and Melbourne but also four 50-plus-point losses.
Read: Clarkson's praises his young defenders
Clarkson has also struggled to explain the inconsistency, at least publicly, with the club's lengthy injury list one excuse.
"If he hasn't got an answer, I probably don't have an answer, either," Gunston said.
"We've been a quality side for many years and we've had great consistency and there are a number of reasons … we've wavered in form a little bit, whether it's individual form, team form, injuries – whatever it might be.
"It's just been one of those seasons at times and as I've said before, dropping away in last quarters of games haven't helped us … (but) there are a lot of positives still to come out of this season."
Gunston, who reaffirmed his wish to stay at Hawthorn, said quelling the Magpies' star-studded midfield was one key to the round 15 clash.
