There has been a different feel for Sam Mitchell at Hawthorn this pre-season.

As Mitchell enters his second year in charge of the Hawks, some of the changes have been significant – in stature and presence.  

A swathe of senior players have moved on or retired, opening the door for a younger group to take control of the club. James Sicily has become the new Hawthorn captain, with a new set of deputies by his side. Mitchell's coaching panel, too, has had turnover.

But others have been more incremental, happening bit by bit in the same way the Hawks are setting up their build.  

More and more of his gameplan has been adapted, so much so that when new players arrive at the club they can catch others by surprise by not yet being in sync with the overall plan. And everyone, by now, has got a handle on how Mitchell wants his program to look, allowing for some extra time on the basics. 

"I think what's been a little bit easier this year has been being able to delegate much more of what we're after – everyone understands it. It's not 'What does Sam want with this?' or 'Sam do you want that?'," Mitchell told AFL.com.au.

"Everyone has a bit better feeling of what we're about and the transparency amongst the coaches and administration staff about the direction we're going has been really clear. What that means is we can delegate much better – I know if I don't turn up to training or if I'm not there for the planning session then it will all be rolling out pretty much exactly the same way. That's meant that I can actually do more coaching this year which I've enjoyed.

"I have been able to do a bit more actual hands-on coaching, whether that be individual craft, how players hold the ball when they're kicking or when we set up the type of game play for a certain structure, I've been able to coach that a little bit more rather than coaching the coaches, if you like.

"Being able to get hands on with the players has been a little bit easier this pre-season and hopefully they'll appreciate that. Maybe they don't like the coach teaching them how to hold the footy when they're kicking but I think the coaching group's been really good and we've really given them a lot of autonomy to do their best work."

This is just one of the many little details within Mitchell's big task of taking the Hawks back to the top of the ladder. He and the Hawks are doing it their way, making some brave calls at the trade table and investing in youth, with Hawthorn the youngest and least experienced list in 2023.

The departures of senior players Jaeger O'Meara, Tom Mitchell, Ben McEvoy, Liam Shiels and Jack Gunston has led to calls Hawthorn has cut its experience back too far, but Mitchell is keen to blood more games into the draftees and younger players they have invested in. 

"This time last year we had some players on the list who we thought were going to be really important for us in the short term but potentially weren't going to be long-term options for us. Whereas now I think every player on our list can have success at this club," he said.

"Luke Breust is our oldest player but he's pretty much had the same output for the last three years so there's no reason he can't continue on in that vein. I look at our group now and think this is the nucleus of players who are going to take us to premiership success and an era that Hawthorn fans have craved and haven't had since 2013, '14 and '15."

Mitchell, of course, was a key member of the club's triple premiership success, while also skippering their 2008 flag triumph. The champion midfielder finished his career at West Coast, where he also served as an assistant as part of his thorough and meticulous path into the senior coaching seat.

Hawthorn has been viewed as a wooden spoon contender in 2023, but the lowly expectations on his side don't faze Mitchell.

"I don't think anyone gets the ladder right, do they? Nobody's said it this year actually, but for the last 10 years Geelong has been about to [supposedly] fall off the cliff and every year they turn up in the top four," he said. 

"Every year the experts will have their opinions and that's what they're paid to do and that's what the fans want to hear. We don't worry too much – good or bad, to be honest. If we're using external opinions too much on what we're trying to achieve we're probably not in the right seat."

Mitchell has reasons to be excited amid some of the external predictions. 

The Hawks have made five top-30 draft selections over the past two years and will be looking to blood more games into their youngsters. They will also give responsibility to their inexperienced players – Jai Newcombe, who is 21, will spearhead their new-look midfield. Josh Ward has had an interrupted pre-season with injury but has starred in match simulation and should take his game further this year. It won't be long until Cam Mackenzie, their No.7 pick at last year's draft, is seen at AFL level. 

The Hawks' starting midfield spots are still up for grabs and Mitchell has been buoyed by the development of that group after being ranked lowly last year.

"We had a lot of trouble around the middle of the ground last year and it's probably for a couple of years we've been like that. And so now with a bit of a rejuvenation in there it doesn’t mean we are going to be better straight away, but (assistant coach) David Hale has moved into that role in the middle of the ground and he has really bonded the boys well together," he said.

"Even at training he had 16 players in four groups of four doing centre bounce work fully competitive and it was really difficult to see who was the best group. It's a very even group and what we hope is there's some real blossoming of talent amongst that group and we can build something that's pretty special amongst that midfield. 

"Although the names might not be what some of the other clubs have at this stage, we believe the underlying talent is there and it's just a matter of being able to bond them together that gives them a bit of respect."

There has been a mantra at Hawthorn over summer of the club having 'no speed limits' to their track to success. This year, like last, Mitchell is hoping the development is driven by players yet to fully emerge. 

"Some pleasing parts of last year was the growth of some of our individual players. As a collective we built some positivity about the direction of where we're going and I think the Hawthorn fans and members out there probably recognise this is the direction we're heading," he said. 

"We know the personnel will be different but the style of play and way we like to go about it will be similar. We saw the emergence of some individual players last year, the obvious ones being Mitch Lewis, Jai Newcombe, Dylan Moore and players like that. I think if we see the continued growth of that group along with some others then that's what success will look like."

SAM MITCHELL ON…

James Sicily

"If you think back to this time last year he had been out of the game for a year, he was wondering 'Do I still have it? How good am I going to be?' [He had] a real nervousness about him, but now after a really solid season there's a different mentality for him and he's handled that really well. Across the course of the pre-season he's been a standout in all of the things that you'd expect him to be a standout in. Adding some versatility into his game will be important, whether that's playing a bit further up the ground or playing on the opposition's best forward, there's some things we've worked on over the summer and it will depend on how other parts of the game work. We know he can play on the opposition's best or he can be freed up or even later in the year last year we pushed him into the midfield with reasonable results. I think having a little bit more flexibility into his role will make him a little bit more potent and more damaging against certain teams."

Chad Wingard

"Chad's been really impressive. I've been really pleased with his pre-season. Physically he's in the best shape he's been in since he's been at Hawthorn so we're really pleased. He had a week maybe about three weeks ago now and it was the most output he's produced in a week for the previous three years. He's in a really good, fit spot and he'll play some game time against Geelong. How and where he plays is going to be up for debate amongst match committee."

Tyler Brockman

"His life is so different to everyone else on our playing list. He's the only player on our list with kids and he's got two new little girls. We didn't want him to come back from Perth before Christmas and he was training with Subiaco over there so thank you to them for allowing that. He was training with one of our coaches' boys and we didn't really know what we were going to get but he came back in really good shape, really fit. He's got one of those loveable smiles and you can't help but enjoy hanging out with him. He's put himself right in the frame."

Will Day

"He can play defence and we know he can do that. We've trained him as a midfielder – inside and outside – and when the push comes to shove on selection I'm not sure where he'll end up. At this stage he's done most of the pre-season as a midfielder knowing he's got the fallback position of being a defender. The thing with his body is he's been pretty consistent this pre-season. And training consistently around the midfield has meant you get hit a little bit more often and that's suited him, believe it or not. As a defender, you get hit less but hard whereas as a midfielder you get hit more often and he's seemed to handle that a bit better. He's been strong."

The ruck battle

"I think the competition between the three older lads (Lloyd Meek, Max Lynch, Ned Reeves), who are all 24, they've been competing and one guy gets in front then another guy gets in front, they've all got different skillsets as well. So watching them compete has been really good. And Max Ramsden has come in pretty fast to be honest. He's probably still a little bit green but it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that he's getting into the side and causing some damage but in a different way."