HAWTHORN coach Sam Mitchell says he feels the support from the club's hierarchy as it embarks on its rebuild. 

The Hawks got a confidence-boosting first win of the season last week, with a victory over North Melbourne on Saturday, following two poor losses to begin the year. 

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The club's aggressive list approach has made for short-term pain for the Hawks, but Mitchell said president Andy Gowers and the club's board were supportive of his plan. 

"I can't be anything but thankful to the board and Andy and all of those guys. They understand, and they've been part of the direction we're going and the strategic thinking," Mitchell said.

"Whether they were there from the start of the build or whether they've come in now, they've been really open and we've been really transparent about it.

"The amount of text messages I got from that group after the loss showed me we were in good hands."

Mitchell said the win over the Kangaroos had given his group some belief after a tough start to the year. 

"I was really pleased that the players got some reward for effort. We'd been working hard and a lot of things hadn't quite come off and then, you know, we lose our way a little bit through our game," he said. "I was really happy for the boys." 

Hawks star Chad Wingard is in line to return to face Geelong on Easter Monday after a calf issue that has sidelined him for two weeks.

"I stood here last week and said he just has to get through training and he just didn't feel quite confident," Mitchell said.

"I stand here with the same information really. If he gets through training, then obviously he'll be a welcome acquisition."