Hawthorn young gun Will Day says he's hoping to have a greater impact in forward 50 as he looks to lift his game to the next level in 2025.
Speaking to SEN Breakfast, 23-year-old Day also said the Hawks have a great deal of flexibility within the side at the moment following the additions of Josh Battle and Tom Barrass.
We summarised some of the key points from Day’s chat with Kane Cornes and David King below.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO WILL DAY’S CHAT WITH SEN
On the prospect of spending more time forward
“I think you look around the competition and all the better midfield groups of the AFL are hitting the scoreboard and we as a team, not just myself, have said we'd like to have more of an impact as well. So for me personally, I think it can be a bit of a dangerous threat and we can try to get a few mismatches forward. I think I'll be able to have a bit of versatility. I back myself in the air, but then also, when it does hit the ground, I'll be able to impact as well. So at this stage, I don't really know exactly what it looks like, but at this time of the year, it's a great time to try things out.”
You never know who you’ll get in the other end when you call membership 😂 pic.twitter.com/IHIlqjQNxZ
— Hawthorn FC (@HawthornFC) February 13, 2025
On the additions of Tom Barrass and Josh Battle
“I think when you bring in two guys that are pretty close to, if not A-graders of the competition, and you bring them in, just not even them as players, but them as people around the club with their leadership and their experiences, you can't take that for granted. So having them come in and with the flexibility of a lot of our players, I think we're in a pretty good spot at the moment. We had a look at our list yesterday as a bit of a group activity just to show how much depth we have. It's going to be pretty hard for the coaches to choose the Opening Round side. It's pretty tight at the moment.”
JOIN THE HAWKS IN 2025! CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR POPULAR MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS
On the competition for selection within the team
“It's a bit of a tough one because, at the end of the day, there's always going to be some players that are going to be upset and probably don't agree with the decisions. But I think just having open conversations about it and knowing that we're going to have some really ready-made AFL players that aren't going to be playing early on in the season… I think it's important for our boys to know that if you stick with it, you're going to get your opportunity at some stage.”
On expectations for the season
“I think for us, it's just not really putting any boundaries on us. We really pride ourselves on letting everyone express themselves and be who they are. I guess we'll have to wait and see for the year. I guess we are a pretty young and confident group and it may come across as arrogant at stages, but I think it's just everyone having fun and enjoying their footy. I think when you follow a team’s trajectory and when they're the underdog, everyone sort of gets behind you. But now, as there's a bit more expectation that we can be a better side, I guess naturally, there's going to be people that turn against you. So we know that's coming, and it probably already did come at that backend of last year. We're well aware and we're just going to keep doing our thing and keep moving forward.”
