Fresh from the news he will be wearing the famous number five guernsey in 2017, Ryan Burton opens up about the emotion and responsibility that comes with the honour.

“It was pretty special,” said Burton, who was presented the jumper at Hawthorn's open training on Saturday.

“Being able to stand in front of the Hawks fans and get a good response from them was pretty pleasing, and it definitely sets me in good stead for the future.”

“I definitely feel a bit of pressure. I’ve spoken to [Sam Mitchell] over the last couple of weeks about it all, and his advice was to just keep doing what I’m doing and don’t think about the number too much.”

Read: 2017 jumper numbers revealed

Burton is currently up in Mooloolaba with his teammates, for the club’s annual pre-season camp.

Coaching and medical staff have been keeping a close eye on the young forward, who has battled several injuries over the last two years including a badly broken leg, but he expects to be back in full training mode very shortly.

“We’re just easing into it this week. By the last couple of sessions [at camp] I’ll be doing pretty much everything. Having only played eight games over the last two seasons they’re just easing me into it.”

With injury restricting the promising player to just four games last season, Burton is hoping for an injury-free 2017.

“I just want to get through [the season] without any major injuries, and certainly set myself up for round one.

“I want to cement my spot in the team, and I definitely hope for some team success as well. Hopefully we can go a couple of steps further than last year.”