Several Hawks have resumed full training as the team recently returned to the track for the 2023 pre-season.

Defender Sam Frost is back to full health following a knee injury that prematurely brought an end to his 2022 season.

Frost hasn't played since Round 13, but transitioned back into the main group on Monday.

The 29-year-old had been a permanent fixture down back since arriving to the club at the end of 2019, playing 50 of a possible 52 games in the brown and gold before the injury.

Hawthorn High Performance Manager Peter Burge said it was great to have the senior experience of Frost back with the group.

“He had a really controlled and measured progression over the off-season and into that November/December period,” Burge said.

“We did a couple of full sessions before Christmas, but he resumed full training on Monday and he’s getting some good work under his belt.”

Ned Reeves is also back to full health after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction in July.

The 24-year-old was impressive in the first month of the 2022 season before dislocating his shoulder against Geelong on Easter Monday.

He returned against Collingwood in Round 12 after strengthening his shoulder before the club opted to send him in for surgery after the win over North Melbourne in Round 19. 

James Worpel faced a stint on the sidelines in the backend of the year after suffering a shoulder injury in Round 16 against GWS.

Burge said the duo were tracking well as they both made their respective returns to the track. 

“Worps was doing a lot of training pre-Christmas, out of the big contact drills, but he’s now into full contact,” Burge said.

“He’s really hungry and ready to go, and on Monday we saw him around the footy doing what he does best.

“Ned was also on a managed program following his shoulder surgery. He was doing a fair bit of training pre-Christmas, but he’s starting now to build that up again and next week he’ll be full contact.

“We’ve been working really hard on some other areas of Ned’s program, especially his conditioning which he has improved dramatically since I’ve been here.

“I think he’s gained a lot of confidence out of being able to get more work in. He’s a bigger body as well, he’s still growing and getting stronger, so he’s managing that side of his preparation as well.”

Mitch Lewis, Changkuoth Jiath, Chad Wingard, Jarman Impey, Lachlan Bramble, Josh Morris and Tyler Brockman have all made a return to full training following their respective injuries in 2022.

“Mitch has had a great Christmas period, he’s gone away and capitalised on the work he did pre-Christmas,” Burge said.

“He’s looking really strong, he ran really well the other day in the running session and today in our footy session, he really stood out.

“CJ pre-Christmas was outstanding with his intensity of running. Playing off half-back as well, he has that acceleration. So we’ve been really impressed with what he’s been able to produce.

“Chad has not missed a session yet since I’ve been here, so it’s really good to see him full training, doing some match play and in some really good condition. He’s worked really hard over the Christmas break, and had a good preparation pre-Christmas as well.

“The challenge for us now is to make sure we keep that going and give him the best opportunity to have a fantastic year.”

Meanwhile, youngster Josh Ward is set for a minor period on the sidelines after facing a hip/groin issue prior to the Christmas break.

Conor Nash has also faced a slightly delayed resumption of his 2023 training program as he rehabilitates a knee injury.

“Over Christmas Josh was on a modified program, just to help him get back on track and we’re now just pushing his loads up at the moment,” Burge added.

“We’re pushing him pretty hard away from the group and anticipate he’ll be back training with the group over the next fortnight.

“Conor had done everything and then the last session before the Christmas break – which was our toughest session – he pulled up a little bit sore in his knee.

“Over the Christmas break we then had to back him off and, similar to Wardy, we’re just progressing that at the moment. Over the next two to three weeks, we’ll move him back into skills.”