HAWTHORN could unleash its prized pick from last year's draft and a player who hasn't played in the AFL in more than four and a half years when the club starts the season against traditional rival Essendon at the MCG on Sunday.
The Hawks are yet to confirm the new names that will face the Bombers, but 2022 pick No.7 Cam Mackenzie is expected to secure a debut in a team that is set to include delisted free agent signing Fergus Greene to help cover some of the losses inside 50.
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Free agent signing Karl Amon and opportunity-starved ruckman Lloyd Meek both moved to Melbourne after securing deals in October and will slot into Sam Mitchell's best 22, but it is the other two who are of greater intrigue on the eve of round one.
Mackenzie put the finishing touches on an impressive maiden pre-season when he collected 24 disposals and a goal against Collingwood in the final practice match of the pre-season, while Greene kicked 3.2 at UTAS Stadium to all but secure his spot to start the season in what could be his first AFL appearance in 1,667 days.
The 25-year-old earned another shot at AFL level after a dominant VFL season, where the former Bulldog kicked 53 goals for Box Hill around his day job as an account manager for ACCO Brands, where he sold pens.
"We don't play until Sunday so we'll have a couple of extra days of training and we'll do selection on Thursday. We'll obviously have some players that are debuting for Hawthorn, but whether or not we have some players who are debuting, we'll find out later in the week," Mitchell said on Tuesday morning.
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"We've brought in some talent from some other clubs. Karl and Lloyd Meek and Cooper Stephens and then Fergus who has had a couple of years with Box Hill and then coming to us. I think they've added a real extra dimension to our group.
"I know when training gets hard, Fergus is pretty regular in saying, 'What would you rather (be doing)? You could be selling pens.' Obviously, he was working for Artline last year. He always reminds the boys, although he did love that job, what they're doing now is pretty special."
Hawthorn lost 1,046 games of experience at the end of last season, following the retirements of Ben McEvoy and Liam Shiels, before the departures of Jaeger O'Meara, Jack Gunston and Tom Mitchell during the Trade Period.
The Hawks will start 2023 with the youngest – average age of 22.9 – and least experienced list – average games of 42.6 – in the AFL, but Mitchell is confident new captain James Sicily and the likes of All-Australian pair Luke Breust and Chad Wingard will provide the young group with confidence and direction.
"They've got a lot of energy this group and real enthusiasm for the way we go about the game. We're excited by what this group can do. We are going to have some really experienced heads out there. James Sicily taking over as captain of the club and he'll lead us really well in that," Mitchell said.
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"Chad's got quite a few (grey hairs). He likes bringing that up, making sure that they know he's the silver fox; he thinks that makes him look nice and distinguished. He'll provide leadership and experience."
Key forward Mitch Lewis is still expected to miss at least the first month of the season after spraining his anterior cruciate ligament in match simulation at the end of January.
Lewis was confined to light straight-line running away from the main group on Tuesday and might miss the first couple of months of the season.
"Nothing has changed with him. At best he is round four to six. That is his best-case scenario. Any little setbacks he has (will delay his return)," Mitchell said.
"We're not going to accelerate him any further than that regardless of how well he's training and how good he's feeling.
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"He has started running a bit quicker now and there is still not any change of direction or that sort of thing. It won't be earlier than round five. Anything that is not perfect will obviously push him back further than that."
After training at La Trobe University, Monash University and Caulfield Grammar over the pre-season, Hawthorn has returned to a picturesque surface at Waverley Park on the eve of the season, following ground improvements across the summer.
The Hawks will name a 26-man squad on Thursday and trim the extended bench to a 22 on Friday afternoon, ahead of their season-opener at the MCG on Sunday.
