Co-vice captain Dylan Moore says two second-year Hawks have caught his eye this pre-season.

Speaking on 3AW on Tuesday, Moore said 2021 draft duo Josh Ward and Connor Macdonald have been rather impressive so far. 

“Wardy had a bit of an interrupted pre-season, but ever since he’s started playing games, he’s been dominating the track,” Moore said.

“He’s an elite runner and an elite user by foot. He did pretty well in his first year, but I feel like, in his second year, he could become a really good player.

“Another one is Connor Macdonald, he played well on the weekend, so Hawks fans should be happy about that.

“He’s been consistent all pre-season and he’s starting to really come out of himself now, so I think he’s up for a big year as well.”

Moore is set to enter his first season in 2023 as the club's co-vice captain after being named in the role alongside Luke Breust and under captain James Sicily.

Asked if his appointment into the leadership position changes his day-to-day approach, Moore said most things remain the same. 

“It doesn’t change anything with behaviours, it's more just a title, which is a pretty cliche way of putting it,” Moore said.

“But for me, I feel like there is a bit more pressure on game days to perform and I might cop a bit more sprays from Sam and be under the gun a little more, but around the club not much changes.”

With the 2023 season set to kickstart next week, Moore said the expectations for his side were different in comparison to the last.

“Last year it was Sam’s first year and it was all about development,” Moore said.

“We’ve still got a heavy focus on that and hopefully we can see three or four players this year who are really show they're the AFL-standard and can become elite players in the competition. 

“This year we want to drive the standards a bit more internally and push ourselves to try and play finals footy – it might not come this year, and we probably don’t expect to play finals this year. 

“But I’m a pretty optimistic guy and I feel like we’ve got the team and the talent to do it - but ultimately, we are looking to develop further again this year and win more games than last year."

Listen to the full interview with Moore on 3AW with Dee Dee (1.34.00 minute mark onwards).