Hawthorn Coach Sam Mitchell says he is proud of his side’s resilience to hold off a final-quarter comeback by the previously undefeated North Melbourne to notch the club’s first win of the season on Saturday.

The Hawks surged ahead by five goals by half-time before the Kangaroos came storming back in the second half, closing the margin to just three points midway through the fourth term.

But the brown and gold had the answers late including crucial goals to Tyler Brockman, who kicked a game-high three majors, and vice captain Dylan Moore to take home a 19-point win.

Speaking to the media post-game, Mitchell praised his players' ability to bounce back from a difficult start to the season. 

“I’m really proud of the resilience of the group, not just across the two hours of the game but across the entire week,” Mitchell said.

“We had a tough week and people thought that we would perhaps never win a game ever again.

“The way our players delivered the week, the way that we trained, and the energy we brought to the game – I thought we deserved to win the game and we did.

“I was really pleased that even in the first part of the last quarter, we missed a lot opportunities, and it would have been really easy to say ‘it's too hard, it’s not going to be our day’.

“But they continued to play the right way and continued to do the things that we knew that would get us the score that we needed to win.

“I think the players deserved some reward for effort and they got a bit of that today.”

Lively small forward Tyler Brockman was superb in his comeback game after spending a year on the sidelines due to a shoulder injury.

Mitchell said the 20-year-old has gone from “strength to strength” upon his return.

“I was rapt for Brocky, he’s such a loveable lad, he’s got one of those infectious smiles,” Mitchell added. 

“We really struggled to score for the first two weeks, so it was great to be able to bring someone in as dynamic and exciting as Brocky in.

“You focus on the three goals, but he had a couple of really impressive run down tackles that just builds the spirit.

“The celebration around the players when there were those strong efforts was much better and I think that creates energy in the group.

“And when this group has energy that’s when they’re going to be a formidable side.”

Listen to the full post-game press conference from Mitchell below.