Draftee Blake Hardwick is settling into his first season at Hawthorn.

After a bit of a break between diary entries, Dimma is back to talk about his start to 2016 on the field.

It’s been an interesting start to the season, and a really exciting one. 

For the first couple of weeks I was an AFL emergency, and I was ready to play those games just in case something happened.

The last few weeks I haven’t been, so it’s just been about fighting for a spot again and playing well in the VFL.

I thought I started the year okay, but I’ve been a bit quiet the last few weeks.

My form’s been a bit up and down, but hopefully I’ll get back into good form soon. The team’s been going alright, and although the last couple of weeks we’ve lost, just (which isn’t good obviously) we’ll come back.

For Box Hill, I’ve played mainly forward, but a bit in the midfield as well. I’ve been trying to work on that midfield craft, spending a bit of time in the centre bounces.

You’ve got to be pretty versatile if you’re going to play in the AFL. I’ve been working on of that midfield stuff with Pup (Liam Shiels) and Punky (Luke Breust), trying to get better in there with my positioning and those sort of things.

It takes a bit of time to get used to playing with a new team and new teammates, but each week it gets easier. You get to know everyone a bit better with each week and how they play.

The last few weeks it feels like I’ve got to know everyone a bit better, and each game it will just get better with the team chemistry.

The first-year boys have all been involved at Box Hill. Kade (Stewart), Lovey (Kieran Lovell), and I have all played a few games in the VFL seniors, Burto (Ryan Burton) played a few as well before his surgery, and Surmo’s (Luke Surman) just coming back from injury and going well.

It was good to see Lovey make his AFL debut the other week, and really get out there and have a crack. He played two games and I thought he went pretty well.

Seeing him out there makes you even more motivated to want to be in that position. My focus now is just to play more consistently and hopefully push for a spot in the seniors as the year goes on.

Box Hill Hawks have a week off this week due to the state representative break.