Gunston, the Hawks' leading goal-kicker (53) this season, hurt his knee and ankle in the qualifying final loss to the West Coast Eagles a fortnight ago, and was forced to sit out the subsequent win over Adelaide and Friday night's preliminary final victory over Fremantle which has the Hawks primed for a three-peat of premierships.

Gunston had a pivotal role in the Hawks' premierships of 2013 and '14 but his spot in the past fortnight has been taken by the much-maligned Ryan Schoenmakers, who has played well as a forward, having spent the majority of his career being overmatched in defence.

Schoenmakers kicked two goals against the Dockers, and impressed coach Alastair Clarkson.

"We were pleased with his contribution. We have been really pleased with what he has done over the course of the year, really," he said.

"He has been a really, really handy addition for us. It's the first time in his career he has been able to play a little bit more settled in the forward half because we have used him in defence so often."

Schoenmakers has booted 14 goals in 15 matches this season.

A first-round draft pick in 2008, the South Australian was used at centre half-back in what proved to be the losing 2012 grand final against the Sydney Swans. He then missed most of the 2013 season, having required a knee reconstruction, and played 15 matches last season but none after round 23.

His efforts on Friday night were also praised by AFL great Wayne Carey during his commentary on Channel Seven.

"He has done his bit, kicked a couple of goals. He has been good," Carey said.

There could be other implications should Schoenmakers not be selected for the grand final. He had the opportunity to leave during the trade period last year but opted to stay and fight for his spot.

However, he is again off contract and, although discussions are said to be progressing, should he suffer more pain of missing out on a premiership, he may feel it's time to move on.

Gunston was ruled out of the do-or-die clash on Wednesday, having failed to show he could run other than in a straight line.

Clarkson did not sound overly optimistic about his hopes of returning for the grand final where, should the Hawks win, they will enjoy a club-first three-peat of flags.

"We would like to think he would be a big chance. But we just need to wait and see. We made a decision on Wednesday ... sometimes you can push hard to get these injuries right for this game, that can do you more damage than you like," Clarkson said.

"So, we elected on Wednesday not to take that punt and push too hard, hoping full well that we would get through this week's game which was just a flip of the coin of course because we had no idea whether we were going to get through this game or not given the significance and difficulty of the trip.

"We are hopeful he will be available but he will need to progress pretty solidly over the next three or four days and start doing some offline stuff to convince us he is right to play."

The Hawks have shown that even without their leading goal-kicker they still remain the most potent side in the league.

They also reported injuries to Taylor Duryea (shoulder) and skipper Luke Hodge (leg) after the win over the untidy Dockers but both are expected to be fit for next week.

Gunston could join the likes of Collingwood's Ron McKeown in 1990, Essendon's Derek Kickett in 1993, Carlton's Troy Bond in 1995, Geelong's Mathew Stokes in 2009, Collingwood's  Simon Prestigiacomo in 2010, Magpie Dayne Beams in 2011 and even Hawks' teammate Jonathon Ceglar last year among those as grand-final week selection heart-break tales.

Ceglar had played in the qualifying and preliminary finals, only to be dropped for Ben McEvoy come the final dance against the Swans.