If Jai Newcombe needed a reminder of just how far he has come in the past 18 months, he found one on Wednesday night.

On the second day of Hawthorn's four-day pre-season camp in Gippsland last week, a handful of kids aged between three and seven were running around a clinic in Morwell wearing the number 44. 

When the group of more than 100 children posed for a photo with a bunch of Hawks at the end of the clinic, Newcombe couldn't help but feel guilty.

These kids, inspired by the Hawthorn star who grew up 50km down the road, are going to want new guernseys in 2023. 

That's what happens when your favourite player changes numbers. After deliberating for some time during the off-season, Newcombe decided to move from one side of the locker room at Waverley Park to the other, swapping the number that had served him across his first season-and-a-half for one of the most famous at the club. 

Newcombe will wear the iconic number three in 2023, the number worn by the player of the 20th century, Leigh Matthews, as well as four-time premiership great Jordan Lewis, and most recently Brownlow medallist Tom Mitchell, who vacated the number when he was traded to Collingwood during last October's trade period. 

The change arrived after his life changed over the course of last autumn and winter.

Newcombe made his debut nine days after being selected in the 2021 Mid-Season Rookie Draft and played seven games in his first year, but he went from the quirky mid-season pick from obscurity to one of the most improved players in 2022.

He finished runner-up in the Peter Crimmins Medal, third in the NAB AFL Rising Star and won the AFL Coaches' Association best young player award. 

When Newcombe was running around for the Poowong Magpies in the West Gippsland Football Netball League only a few years ago, not many could have predicted he would return to the region as one the main reasons to watch Hawthorn in 2023. But that's the reality. 

"It is pretty cool to see that support and have people buying into the journey that I've been on and getting behind me. Being from down this way, it was cool to see so many 44s," Newcombe told AFL.com.au at Federation University during Hawthorn's pre-season camp. 

"I actually made the comment when we were having the photo that I felt a bit bad for the kid in the front row that had 44 on his back. It puts a smile on my face knowing that I'm going in the right direction and people are getting behind you and following what's going on. Hopefully we can get more and more in the [number] three."

If you want to change numbers at Hawthorn, you have to apply for the swap. It isn't a matter of just asking. Famous numbers are sacred at Waverley Park.

Those who wore the number previously have a say in who wears what. It is why Ned Reeves has inherited Ben McEvoy's number seven, why Fergus Greene has landed the number 26 worn by club legend Peter Hudson and premiership heroes Rodney Eade and Liam Shiels, and why Karl Amon was given the number 10 after being endorsed by Chance Bateman, Hawthorn's first First Nations player to reach 100 games. 

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has introduced the system to not only reward performance but also connect the present with the past, creating a special part of the pre-season, just like 12 months earlier when Changkouth Jiath moved to number nine and Jacob Koschitzke to number 23.

Newcombe knew the number three was cherished at Hawthorn and wanted it, but he felt attached to the number 44 that highlighted the toil it had taken to get to the highest level.

It wasn't until he spent an hour with Matthews – the eight-time club champion and winner of four premierships each as a player and coach – that he knew it was the right decision. 

"I was toing and froing a bit with whether I would pull the trigger, to be honest. I guess the journey I'd created with the 44 made me think. I had a few conversations with dad about that on what to do. I think three was a great move," Newcombe said. 

"Having Leigh present it to me was really special. Getting to speak to him was really cool to get insight into how he was like as a player, his mentality and what the number means to him. He was big on always striving for more. That was the main message I took out of it. Never settling on where you're at; there is always something bigger, something to push yourself harder for."

Life is vastly different to 12 months ago. Newcombe knows he belongs at AFL level. He signed a three-year extension just before Christmas that ties him to the Hawks until the end of 2026. And despite having only 29 games next to his name, he is now Hawthorn's main man in the middle following the departures of Jaeger O'Meara and Tom Mitchell. But one thing that hasn't changed is his appetite.

Newcombe might have some security and belief, but he still hungry for more. That hasn't surprised anyone inside the club.  He hasn't missed a session over the pre-season.

He bought a road bike and has been cycling up and down Beach Road to add some extra fitness to his regime.

And being overlooked by Gippsland Power as a teenager still serves as motivation, even after everything he achieved in 2022. 

"It is still full steam ahead for me. I've always had pretty strong self-drive. It came in pretty strong missing out in the under-18s. I've had to work pretty hard to give myself the opportunities to be where I am. I always had that inner drive and I'm staying hungry; there's always room to improve; I'm not settling for where I'm at, I want to keep excelling," he said not long after completing a gruelling hill sprint session under the guidance of Hawthorn's High Performance Manager Peter Burge. 

"It definitely is different to where I was this time last year. I'm certainly not comfortable with where I am, but you get a sense of security and you're able to hone in on a lot of things. With the contract being sorted you don't have to worry about how that will look. There have obviously been some changes, but I think it's really exciting – especially for me to really thrive with those changes and take my game to another level with the opportunity that will present."

While Mitchell has been quick to attribute Newcombe's rise to the unassuming big-bodied midfielder, the man who was forced to start in the VFL before becoming a great at the club he now coaches has been a central figure in his instant impact at AFL level.

First at Box Hill, now at Hawthorn, where Newcombe has been backed to lead a midfield regeneration that will include first-round picks Josh Ward, Cooper Stephens, Will Day, Cam MacKenzie and Josh Weddle in 2023 and beyond.

"Sam has had a massive impact on me over the last two years. The biggest thing is the people first. He is big on that. Developing the relationship and getting back to being a family-orientated club. That's what we stand for and his connection and effort to go and develop that has been really strong and allowed me to feel comfortable," he said.

"He gets on with my family really well. He is a head coach, but you can go and talk to him about things that aren't footy, so to have that is comforting. It allows you to thrive in more facets than just footy and feel like you have more people to lean on every time you come into work."

If Newcombe can replicate what he did in 2022 – and go to another level – one thing is for sure: there will be plenty of brown and gold number three guernseys running around Gippsland Auskick locations this winter. And plenty in the outer at the MCG.