Assistant Coach Chris Newman gives his player by player review of every Hawks forward's 2023 pre-season so far.

Mitch Lewis

"Mitch started his pre-season off strong, his contested work was very good as was his aerial work. He was moving and covering the ground really well and then obviously had a bit of a setback and has since spent a fair bit of time in rehab now. But he's still staying in touch in terms of the coaching side of things and helping me with drills and little things to just stay involved. But it looks like he's progressing with his rehab, but he'll certainly be ticking off all the boxes before he's putting his hand up for selection."

Chad Wingard 

"Chad is a bit of an experience head now and I've been really impressed with his pre-season. His work rate and his intensity around the ball is impressive. He probably doesn't get a lot of praise or accolades for his defensive action, but I've been pleasantly surprised with the intent in which he has trained this summer. I feel like he's taken that role as a more experienced player, setting the example for some of these younger guys coming through. His body is well conditioned, he hasn't really missed a lot of pre-season. We'll obviously assume his small forward role and can play deep or more higher if we need him to, so he's quite flexible with where we can throw him."

Dylan Moore

"Moorey was obviously recently promoted into our leadership group, he is one of our vice captains now, and he's relished that role. He's another one who is really driving the standards and helping others around him. He's a guy with a high engine, he looks just as fit as ever. He's covering the ground quite well and can play higher and have an impact up the ground a bit more. He's one of those players who has the running ability that can re-engage in the forward line really quickly. He's got speed, endurance and he'll be looking to use that. He performed pretty well in our intraclub and match simulation against Geelong, he was a really dangerous forward. I think he had five shots at goal and missed one that was a really close snap. He hones his craft, he is constantly out there with the younger guys having snaps at goal."

Luke Breust

"Luke is another experienced guy we've been leaning on. His ability to teach others around him has been important, especially with young guys such as Jack O'Sullivan and Josh Bennetts. Regardless of his age, he just keeps working on his craft and has this desire to improve his game. Obviously he's a noted goalkicker so nothing will change much in terms of his role, we'll keep him around the goals as much as possible and he'll be a real threat."

Tyler Brockman

"It's been a bit of a different pre-season for Brocky - his life's a bit different now being a dad with twins. But he's handling it really well. I just love the enthusiasm he has brought to the club. It was a bit of an unknown as to how he would handle his energy levels, but he's been fantastic around the group. He is playing and training with some real enthusiasm. He creates goals both in the air and on the ground - he's one of those players that doesn't need too many rules and restrictions - you just let him play and get him around the ball as much as we can. As a small forward, he's a dual threat. He can impact up in the air and go for his marks, but also his agility at ground level will be really important. I think in he is in a really good physical state right now and was pretty impressive in the practice match against Geelong."

Fergus Greene

"Fergus has had a great pre-season, physically you can see the work he has put in in the strength and conditioning side of things. He is covering the ground as well as he has ever covered it really. He has a natural presence forward, had impact in both of our pre-season hit-outs and has played across all tiers in the front end against Geelong. He was able to provide a real threat for us going forward, he took a far few marks to set us up going inside-50 and then was able to impact when the ball was in his hands. I just love the energy that he brings with both the ball in hand and off the field. I'm exciting to see what the year holds for Ferg."

Sam Butler

"Butsy was limited in his first pre-season last year, with a few little niggles here and there so this is the full pre-season he's had. He hasn't missed much training at all and even with the game minutes he's been really high. He's been trying to work on his capability of being a threat as a forward and he's got real genuine lightening speed and has good endurance, so he's just learning how to put those two together. Around the goals he is finding some shots, he didn't get as many shots against the Cats as he would've hoped, but he is working hard to try and nail his role in the team."

Connor Macdonald

"Connor spent a fair bit of time in the midfield in pre-season and has spent some time as a forward too. He played forward last year and he understands his role and what's required of him when he is forward. So we thought it would be a good opportunity to get him some exposure in the midfield this pre-season. He can flick in and out of there, he's got capability to spread from the stoppage and some real speed to draw the ball. He's similar to some of our higher forwards in that he can get up the ground but can also cause some real trouble for the opposition on the way back. He's a young kid who's got a lot of scope left with his improvement. He finds the footy, he has some real genuine football nous."

Josh Bennetts

"Josh is a kid coming into an AFL system and has dramatically changed the shape of his body, his ability to cover the ground and multiple efforts. It's really important for small forwards to be able to back up efforts and he's slowly just made improvements in that area as the pre-season has gone on. He won't stop working on his craft. He's got a little crew with the small forwards who like to hang out and have snaps on goals - they often have these little competitions that I really encourage and love. The one thing that surprised me is his aerial capabilities, he's got quite a big jump and his got clean hands, so I'm excited by what he can bring there. He has also got a real intent to chase and put some defensive pressure on the opposition too. I've liked his progression."

Jack O’Sullivan

"Jack is a similar mould to Josh where he loves the ball in his hands. He's always around the contest and he's always the loudest, you can always hear him calling for the ball which is great for a young kid. He has no fear in having the ball in his hands, he wants it all the time. He'll work himself almost into exhaustion at times, he just loves to get to contests. I'll keep encouraging that and he'll keep learning his craft. He had an impact against Geelong last week he hit the scoreboard and probably wasn't as accurate as he would've hoped. He had some tougher shots on the run and then missed an easier one on shot of goal which he is still talking about. He's a real energy giver and loves a goal and loves to celebrate with others. He's a real team-first kind of kid."

Jacob Koschitzke

"Kosi has been providing a real strong contest for us. He's had a focus of really using his natural abilities which is his speed and power so he's worked a lot on those sort of things. Finding little ways to improve his game too, doing some foot work, trying to create some separation between him and his opposition. So its just the little things that he's really tried to hone this pre-season. We really value the contest he can bring, and then his capability to hit the scoreboard too. The first intraclub game he had multiple opportunities, he just wasn't as accurate on the night, but I love the fact that he wants the ball in his hands and is providing a real genuine target for us forward. I think particularly with Mitch Lewis out, he's playing a pretty important role for us. Quite often he is outnumbered, but we just expect that he competes to the best of his ability if at times he needs to half the contest then that's fine too."

Emerson Jeka

"Jeks has been playing a bit split down back and up forward. But he's spent more time forward this side of Christmas. He's another one that is blessed with football attributes - he's a beautiful kick of the ball, can mark the ball, is a good decision maker and is a good size, which is why we thought he could learn some things playing back. He steps into the forward half now and he's got the capability to draw the ball and has some really good straight line speed. He feel like his forward nous will be really important with the way we play, providing a target for us on the lead."

Jai Serong

"Jai had a really strong summer, he has got a high work rate for a guy that's mid-size. We expect that he can play multiple roles, whether he holds down a key position for us, but also can use his endurance and get up the ground, he's a bit of a hybrid forward. Has a beautiful kick of the ball, is a great decision maker and has the ability to hit the scoreboard. He just had a little bit of a setback a few weeks ago with his ankle so he wasn't available last week against the Cats but I feel like he's really bounced back from that. He's another guy that we feel can have a real impact forward."