Collingwood fielded seven players aged 22 or younger against Geelong in the side's preliminary final, as opposed to the Saints, whose only youngsters last week were Ben McEvoy (21) and Robert Eddy (22).
Hannebery, the 2010 NAB AFL Rising Star, said Collingwood’s young midfielders - particularly Sidebottom, Dayne Beams and Sharrod Wellingham - could be the surprise packets of the grand final.
“They’re three young guns that I think can be superstars of the club in time and they could be the difference on Saturday,” Hannebery said on Wednesday.
“The young guys give the club fresh legs and a bit of enthusiasm, so I’m sure those young players are getting the older guys up when they’re feeling down.
“They’ll play well and give everyone a boost on the weekend.”
Scott Pendlebury, Chris Dawes and Brent Macaffer, all 22, and 21-year-old Ben Reid are the other young Magpies who will play in their first grand final on Saturday.
Hannebery, who is recovering from a post-season shoulder reconstruction, will be watching from the stands, but the 19-year-old said he would be ready for a full pre-season.
“I had a bit of a reconstruction on the shoulder, so hopefully a few more weeks in the sling and then a bit of rehab and I should be right for the start of pre-season,” he said.
“I’ll do a bit of running while I’m down here (in Melbourne). I really want to make sure I improve on last year, get myself in really good nick and improve my decision-making and kicking.”
Hannebery said he was looking forward to working under new coach John Longmire, who has been guiding the young onballer as the club’s midfield coach.
But he was unsure who would be appointed as the club’s next captain, following Brett Kirk’s retirement.
“‘Kirky’ leaving is a huge loss for the club. He’s a champion of the game and he’s just been the best guy to have around the club,” Hannebery said.
“It’s going to be a massive loss and I’m not sure how we’re going to go about it, if we’re going to have two or three captains.
“But we’ve still got some great leaders in Adam Goodes and Craig Bolton. They’ll steady the ship and we’ll be fine.”
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