BEN McEvoy has likened his side’s unusual practice match against Collingwood to a heavyweight bout, with the Hawthorn captain conceding his side has work to do ahead of round one.
The Hawks trailed by as much as 84 points before rallying to record a draw in the six-quarter practice match.
It was the first – albeit unofficial – match with Sam Mitchell in charge, after 17 years with Alastair Clarkson at the helm as senior coach.
"I think it was Mike Tyson that said, 'everyone's got a plan until they get punched in the face'," McEvoy told reporters at the Festival of Football launch.
"The first couple of quarters we got punched in the face so that was a really good wake up call for us."
McEvoy conceded the seesawing affair was a shock to the system, with a plethora of players rusty after a summer of intra-club matches.
"It is hard. We were pleased with a lot of the stuff we did in terms of system," McEvoy said.
"But in terms of toughness and contest around the ball you do all pre-season, sort of compete against each. You get your first chance to compete against opposition, sometimes it doesn’t go so well.
"It was a good wake up call for us, but we’ll bounce back."
One positive for the Hawks was the return of star defender James Sicily, who had been sidelined for 18 months with an ACL injury.
The 27-year-old now looks likely to line up come round one when Hawthorn faces North Melbourne at the MCG.
"He got through really well physically and I think we saw little glimpses of just how special a player he can be so we’re super excited to have him back out there," McEvoy said.
"I think he’s one of those guys who’s not just good for Hawthorn, but good for footy."
For 20-year-old Will Day, however, a round one berth is totally out of the equation.
McEvoy described Day's recovery from an ankle injury as "frustratingly slow", with the highly touted No.13 pick only managing 16 appearances in two seasons.
"He’s very anxious to get back out there but he’s progressing along," McEvoy said.
"He had a really good training session yesterday and got through that really well so next couple of weeks we’ll see him back in full training and match play.
"Fingers crossed he’s out on the MCG really soon."
The Hawks’ AAMI Community Series game against Richmond will be played at Devonport Oval, a tribute match to the community after the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy in December.
"Obviously we’re playing Richmond down in Devonport, which is a community that has been through a serious tragedy in recent times as most people know," McEvoy said.
"Footy means a lot to people so hopefully in the community down there that’s still really trying to recover and to move on from the horrific tragedy, maybe we can give them a tiny little slice of normality and hopefully that touches a few people."
