Hawthorn midfielder Will Day says his team is “more driven than ever” to improve, as they aim to build on the momentum of their 2024 finals campaign. 

Speaking to media on Tuesday as part of the club’s pre-season training camp in Torquay, the 23-year-old also touched on his recovery from his collarbone injury, his personal goals for 2025 and who might be pushing their case for Opening Round selection.

We summarised the key points from Day’s press conference below. 

On his recovery from his collarbone injury

“Yeah, feeling good. Pre-Christmas, I was sort of looking after it a bit and getting back into some contact but now post-Christmas has been really good, just back in 100 per cent and feeling really good about it.”

On whether he could have played finals last year

“I think at the time I was pretty optimistic and I was obviously trying to do everything I could do to play. But after some further discussions with a few surgeons and post-surgery as well, looking back, I think I probably wasn’t going to be able to play, just with the severity and where it was and the implications if I did it again. So in hindsight, it was a really good decision by the medical team.”

On how he dealt with missing out on playing finals last year

“It was pretty tough watching on in the coaches’ box. I just felt like I wanted to be out there and help the boys but they did a great job. Watching on, I was really proud of everyone and there were a lot of mixed emotions but obviously I would’ve loved to have been out there.”

On playing more time forward

“I think this time of year is a great time to experiment. I’ve done a little bit in the past and it’s definitely something I’d like to try to see if I can add another string to my bow to help the team, that’d be great.”

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On how pre-season is tracking so far

“Coming out of last year, there was a lot of excitement but since we’ve been back into pre-season, it’s just been all systems go. I feel like coming off last year, in the end, we weren’t good enough so we know that if we do the same thing as last year, we’re not going to get to where we want to go, so I think we’ve been more driven than ever."

On his personal focus for 2025

“I think having more of an impact forward of the ball would be great for me. I think you look at all the great midfielders around the competition and they have great impact forward. I think just that power stuff, I’ve been working on that quite a bit so I’m just trying to back myself in.” 

On how the Hawks will evolve in 2025

“I think because internally, we’ve raised our expectations as well, it makes it a little bit easier. We aren’t sitting back, we don’t really look back at last season and we’re not content with it at all so although the expectations around us are higher and I think ours are even higher than that so we’re just trying to work as hard as we can. Each game is pretty important.”

On the impact of Tom Barrass and Josh Battle

“Obviously they’re great footballers but I think their character has been pretty prominent since they’ve come in. They’re both just really good people which I think as a club are really big on. We really try and let them be themselves. They’ve already made an impact around the club, they’re great leaders and they’ve had a really good presence.”

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On the team’s pre-season camp

“We’ve just come down (to Geelong and Torquay) for a training camp. It’s good to get down near the beach and I think it should be some pretty good weather as well so it’s good to get together, spend some more time together and work pretty hard as well.”

On Max Ramsden’s pre-season form

“We need someone to step up, at least one. He’s been training the house down and his presence up forward has been really good. With his physical attributes to be that big and cover the ground so well, I think he’s definitely in the mix (for Opening Round).”

On the midfielders challenging for spots

“He’s (Josh Ward) been awesome for us. I think our starting midfield from last year, we are really feeling the pinch with those guys (Josh Ward and Cam Mackenzie) coming through and Henry Hustwaite as well. They’ve increased their running power which is always their strength. It’s great having those guys that are pushing us. All three of them at this stage probably deserve to play.” 

Watch Will Day’s full press conference below.