HAWTHORN midfielder Chance Bateman believes Sam Mitchell has slipped seamlessly into his new captaincy role because of the legacy left by former skipper Richie Vandenberg.

Bateman said Vandenberg's lasting influence on the leadership group had contributed to an easy transition for Mitchell as skipper of the Hawks.

“(Sam) is going really well. He's probably a bit more relaxed than I've seen him in past years,” Bateman told hawthornfc.com.au.

“He's handled the role really well and the boys have given him plenty of support. We are right behind him, hopefully he has a good first year as captain.

“'Vanders' did a great job over his time as captain and that's probably the reason Sam has been able to move into the role so well because of the structure 'Vanders' had in place with the leadership group.

“It made it a lot easier for the next captain coming in.”

Bateman said the playing list was in good shape and felt closer than ever after concurrent pre-Christmas training camps at Coffs Harbour and in Papua New Guinea.

“It was great when we all got back together. The boys were pretty quick to tell us how Kokoda was and what they experienced and we shared some of our stories,” he said.

“It brings the group tighter together because a lot of those guys would have heard us speaking about it and, now that they've experienced it, they can feel part of it as well.”

Bateman has returned to full training after a slight injury mishap before the Christmas break and says he is on track for a round one NAB Cup appearance.

“I had a bit of a sore knee prior to Christmas but I've been back into full training now for about three or four weeks so it's going well now,” he said.

“[The knee] was just a bit sore with some bone bruising but that seems to have cleared up now. I'm looking forward to the games starting.”

Bateman suspected training on hard surfaces had caused the knee problem.

“I think it was just the training I was doing in the off-season that caused it. I was doing a few longer runs over the break and maybe on some harder surfaces. But we're not really sure what it was from,” he said.

“We have a scratch match coming up in the next couple of weeks and I should be right for that, but if I don't play then, I'll definitely be right for round one of the NAB Cup.”

The 26-year-old battled hamstring problems during the 2007 finals and said his body had needed a break from the rigours of the game at season’s end.

“Even though you'd love to keep on playing in more finals, towards the end of the year you're really looking for that break,” he said.

“You enjoy the first month of [the break] but after that you're looking forward to starting training again and getting back into it. And then by the end of the pre-season you're really excited that the games are coming up.

“I think everyone is pretty much the same. It's a pretty long season, and it takes a fair toll on the body.”

Now, with his rest behind him and his body right to go, Bateman is anticipating the start of the season proper. And he is excited about the Hawks' 2008 prospects.

“We've lost a fair bit of experience since last year with a few of our older blokes going out but we're a pretty young side and we're very enthusiastic,” he said.

“But we're also maturing pretty quickly and we learned a lot from last year. So we're looking forward to improving on that this year.

“The good thing about [playing finals] last year is that you don't need any extra motivation to get through pre-season.

“That [semi-final] loss to North Melbourne sticks in your mind and it is what gets you through all those hard running and skills sessions during the summer.

“We're now getting towards the end of the pre-season and the games are starting so we're backing off on the running a little bit. It becomes more skill-focussed and about games and the way you want to play.

“We're really looking forward to getting into the matches now.”