HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson says ruckman Simon Taylor, who has missed out on a place in this year's grand final team, isn't the only heartbreak story at the club.

Clarkson did not reveal the reason why Hawthorn preferred the emerging Brent Renouf to the more experienced Taylor, who has played most of the season.

"I won't go into specifics, but there is plenty of heartbreak for anyone involved with grand final sides and we've heard about the situation at Geelong," Clarkson said at the 2008 Toyota AFL Grand Final Parade media conference at the Treasury Building in Melbourne on Friday.

"We've got the situation with Tom Murphy, Simon Taylor and Timmy Clarke, who has been a great servant at our footy club for a long time, and have missed out. Jarryd Morton [is another to miss out]."

Clarkson pointed to some long-serving Hawks and recent retirees as others who were desperately unlucky not to take on Geelong, as the club aimed for its 10th premiership.

"The real heartbreak is probably for Joel Smith, Richie Vandenberg and Ben Dixon – guys that retired at the end of last year.

"Hopefully it'll be a successful period for our club, as there is plenty of heartbreak in footy. There have been lots of guys who have played their whole career without an opportunity to play in a grand final and maybe a winning one.

"So we try and keep things in perspective as much as we can and a lot of these guys that have perhaps missed out this year, we're hopeful that they'll still be great contributors to the club and they'll get another chance at some point in time.

"You can't fit 44 blokes into 22 spots, so the whole club gets you to a grand final berth, but only 22 can run out there on Saturday."

But Clarkson said one of the great stories to emerge in Hawthorn's team is Shane Crawford, who will play in his first grand final since debuting in 1993. If Crawford plays in a premiership, he will hold the record for having played the most AFL matches before winning a flag.

"Denis Pagan used to always say to us: 'Persistence and perseverance knows no failure'," Clarkson said.

"He's just hung in there and stuck at it and he's been a highly decorated player at our club for a long period of time. He's enjoyed a lot of individual accolades along the way, but he finally gets the opportunity right in the twilight of his career.

"The whole reason why he plays the game is to enjoy some real genuine team success."