Forward Mitch Lewis says he has shifted his focus towards changing a key element of his game over the pre-season.
Speaking on 3AW this week, Lewis said he’s been trying to find a balance between becoming a bigger body while still maintaining his agility.
“The last couple years I’ve just been trying to put on size, and probably to the detriment of that is you lose your ability to move around the ground and get up and back,” Lewis said.
“So, finding a good mixture of that will be key – I’ve always wanted to be a more consistent player to be able have impact throughout the whole game, not just for a quarter or a half.
“That’s something I’ve been working on during the summer, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop working on that.
“The demand of AFL now is that you can’t just sit in the goal square, or sit inside 50.
“It’s all about team defence and you’ve got to work your way up the ground to support your midfielders and defenders – so it’s all about finding a balance.”
Lewis suffered a sprain of his anterior cruciate ligament in January, and while he has been sidelined since, he has fortunately avoided surgery.
The 24-year said recent scans showed he’s on track as expected to make a return following the first month of the season.
“That was always the plan to get a six-week scan just to have a look at the progress,” Lewis said.
“So, I’m very thankful the doctor has come back and said it is very nicely on track.”
Lewis enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2022, booting 37 goals from 15 games - registering an impressive accuracy of 66.1 per cent - to spearhead the Hawks' attack.
Now part of the club’s leadership group, Lewis is leading a revamped forward line alongside new recruit Fergus Greene and veterans Chad Wingard and Luke Breust.
“Those guys (Luke and Chad) have got a tonne of experience. Particularly with Luke, his knowledge of not only our game plan, but the AFL landscape in general is massive for the younger guys.
“When you think of blokes coming through like Sam Butler, Dylan Moore as well, he has been helping them all immensely."
Hear the full chat with Lewis on 3AW below (from the 16.30 minute mark).
