Hawthorn Coach Sam Mitchell insists his side is capable of much more than the performance that was produced in the club's season opener against Essendon on Sunday. 

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Mitchell expressed his disappointment in the output that was displayed on the weekend.

"Our players were enormously disappointed in the performance and they know that we're going to play better footy than that," Mitchell said.

"That was not a performance that's going to be indicative of how we are as a team and what the talent is on our list.

"It was a bitterly disappointing performance, and we're looking forward to being able to bounce back against Sydney in Sydney.

"They're a really quality side and were fantastic on the weekend - ours was the lowest pressure game and theirs was the highest pressure game, so it's actually a good test against really strong opposition.

"I think you'll see a much better effort from our boys."

Mitchell added one of the biggest downfalls in the performance from its Round 1 clash was its inability to defend in the face of the Bombers momentum. 

"We've had a good look at the review, and what we need to improve on," Mitchell said. 

"There was a long list, so we need to be quite specific about trying to make some improvements for this week and the long-term as well.

"I think defensively we really struggled to slow their ball movement down - they only had 15 front-half turnovers, but they kicked six goals.

"So being able to defend a little bit better and not turn the ball over so easily are a couple of the things we want to pick up."

Hear Mitchell's full press conference below.