HAWTHORN key forward Mitch Lewis is ready for day one of pre-season after recovering from the posterior cruciate ligament injury that hampered the second half of his breakout season.

The 24-year-old displayed glimpses of what was to come last year before exploding in 2022, kicking 37 goals from 15 appearances, including two bags of five against both South Australian sides as well as three sets of four. 

Lewis missed three games early in the season after straining his hamstring on Easter Monday, before injuring his knee against Collingwood when he booted four goals in round 12. 

The Calder Cannons product returned after a fortnight on the sidelines but wasn’t able to cover the ground or hit full speed in the closing months of the season, with the Hawks' high performance team choosing to end his season after round 20. 

But after a period of rest and rehabilitation during the past few months, Lewis will be let loose when the main group reports back for pre-season training on December 5. 

"I'm good to go. I just needed to rest it a little bit towards the back end of last season, but now I'm ready to tackle pre-season," Lewis told AFL.com.au.

"I'm pretty keen to get stuck into it, along with a lot of other guys I think. 

"We'll really attack this pre-season quite hard with some new coaching staff, new players, so we are really keen to get the right mix of things going into next year."

After being selected with pick No.76 in the 2016 NAB AFL Draft – the second last pick – Lewis played 36 games across his first five seasons at Waverley Park before grasping his opportunity in 2022. 

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Lewis emerged as one of the most accurate goalkickers in the competition during the first season under Sam Mitchell, converting 66.1 per cent of his opportunities to claim the best conversion rate of the top-30 goal kickers in 2022.

Now the 199cm and 101kg spearhead enters this pre-season in a vastly different position to this time last year, after inking a four-year contract extension during a year where he announced himself as the future of Hawthorn's forward line.

"I know what I have to do now, I did it last year. I've got a clear plan of what I want to achieve this pre-season," he said. 

"I was super pleased with the year, obviously to solidify my spot in the side first of all. 

"It was the first time I've played round one, which was hard to believe for some people, but I got a lot of confidence with how I went about things this year."

Lewis is determined to improve his durability in 2023 after the interruptions he faced amid his breakout season, setting himself the goal of playing every game next season by strengthening his body across the summer. 

"I suppose I just need to stay out on the park next year, which I think some things I've put into my program will really help," he said.

"I'm super keen to stay out on the park for every game next year and hopefully have an even better year."

After trading away experienced stars Tom Mitchell, Jaeger O’Meara and Jack Gunston during the trade period, Hawthorn is set for a challenging year in 2023, although the rebuild path is clear under Mitchell. 

Hawthorn has invested in youth in recent years and will continue to provide opportunities for young players as they hunt another premiership in the years to come. 

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Speaking on the site where the Kennedy Community Centre will be built in Dingley and open in 2024, Lewis said the path forward is clear and remains exciting, despite losing 1046 games in experience in the form of retiring duo Ben McEvoy and Liam Shiels, plus Mitchell, O'Meara and Gunston. 

"I suppose the members, the fans and the players know the direction of the footy club," he said.

"We've really invested in the youth, we've seen a lot of young guys come through the footy club last year like Josh Ward, Connor Macdonald, these first-year guys who are going to be really good players. 

"It is a realty exciting time to be a Hawks player and hopefully a fan as well."

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