THE SELECTION intrigue surrounding Hawthorn speedster Isaac Smith continues to grow ahead of Friday night’s qualifying final against West Coast.
Smith failed to train with his teammates as the Hawks had a run at Domain Stadium on Thursday.
The bulk of the team had flown into Perth a couple of hours earlier.
Smith was in an advance party of six players to fly across on Wednesday.
He strained ligaments in his left knee during last Saturday night's win over Carlton.
The Hawks will name him in their team and leave it until Friday to make the final call.
"He ran yesterday and he pulled up pretty well, so we'll see how he pulls up tomorrow," Hawks assistant coach Adem Yze said before training.
"I'm not sure what he'll do today - he'll do a little bit.
"Hopefully, it all goes well tomorrow, so we'll make a call on that tomorrow morning ... he's an important player for us.
"The test is going to be more tomorrow, to see how he pulls up from today and whatever he does tomorrow morning.
"We'll leave that until the last minute."
Yze and senior coach Alastair Clarkson separately said on Thursday that the Hawks would not risk Smith in Friday night's match.
"If you knew what the result was going to be, the decision would make itself," Yze said.
"We have to take fit players into a final ... if he's not 100 per cent fit, he won't play."
Billy Hartung, the most-likely replacement if Smith is ruled out, trained at Domain Stadium.
"He's been terrific for us ... he has a massive tank, he has good skills - he'll be in the mix," Yze said.
Hartung was left out of Hawthorn's side last weekend.
