A well-documented youth policy has led to one of the youngest lists in the AFL, but Osborne feels Hawthorn's greatest source of improvement in 2006 will come from the club's core group of players that have between 25 and 100 games experience.
"That's where we need to make the improvement for us to win more games this year," Osborne says when asked about the side's prospects for the coming season.
"We need to be more consistent with our best games individually to improve as a team. If we have 12 to 15 of those guys playing well with a few of the young guys and a few of the leaders beating their opponents then we'll be pretty well set to win the game."
That's not to say the Hawks aren't looking to their high-profile batch of youngsters to advance their level of play.
"We're always looking for improvement in them as well, but there might be only a handful of them in the team on the weekend," he explains.
"If they all play outstanding games that's great, but it's not going to influence the team's overall performance too much - if the core group is all playing well then that can really swing a game."
Injuries to members of that core group took a toll last season with the Hawks forced to play more youngsters than they perhaps would have preferred at times.
"I think it had a bit to do with having a young team and throwing inexperienced blokes in the mix," Osborne replies when asked why Hawthorn was competitive for the most part, but was often overrun by opposition sides.
"We tended to fall down towards the end of the game when we had that inexperience in the team. Hopefully now that a lot of the core group and the younger players have got a bit more experience, we'll be able to improve in that area, run out games better and stick to the game plan for four quarters.
"Hopefully that'll get us over the line in those close games where we lost by a goal or two last year - we think we can turn those into wins."
Osborne is highly regarded for his fearsome attack on the football and a selfless, team-oriented approach to the game that saw him rewarded with the inaugural 'defensive pursuits' award at the end of last season.
"They had points for certain acts on the ground like chasing, tackling, manning up and spoils - things like that off the ball that aren't usually recognised," he explains.
"That's probably a strong part of my game - doing things off the ball - and I was pretty rapt to win it the first year that they brought it in.
"It's always been pretty natural for me, growing up with an older brother, we've always been competitive with anything we did and that competitiveness has come through in my game."
Previously troubled by osteitis pubis, Osborne is confident he now has a handle on the debilitating condition and hopes to push for more time on the ball this year.
"I would like to have a bit more of a run in the midfield," he admits.
"I was used a little bit last year off the bench or out of a pocket giving guys a break in the midfield, so hopefully I'll spend just a bit more time in there and play a few more key roles in the midfield.
"But I'm happy if it fits in with the team if I have to go forward or back - I'm glad to go up either end and do a job - whatever's asked of me by 'Clarko', but hopefully he can see a spot for me through the midfield as well."
