LESS than two months out from starting his second season as a Hawk, Marc Pittonet feels more at home than ever.
 
His first year was a learning experience – getting a feel for life as a full-time footballer, building relationships with new teammates and acquiring as much football knowledge as he could.
 
The 19-year-old ruckman is still learning – and there are still plenty of challenges – but he can see himself heading in the right direction in all areas.
 
“Last year was obviously hard, given the team was back-to-back premiers and you were trying to get to know everyone and build relationships with everyone,” Pittonet told hawthornfc.com.au.
 
“Then to try to make the jump up from under-18s football to AFL – it’s a massive jump.
 
“There was a lot of finding my feet last year, whereas this year I feel much more comfortable in among the group, I’ve built a lot of relationships.
 
“Now that I’ve got that foundation I’m much more comfortable on the field.“
 
Pittonet can see that comfort and confidence translating into his pre-season training.
 
Not only has he completed more training than last year – “at least 10 percent more” – but he’s starting to assert himself more on the field.
 
“I’ve done a lot more training load this year, so it’s been good to be able to do most things,” Pittonet said.
 
“New players come in and get eased in, so pre-Christmas (last year) I only did half of the pre-season training, whereas this year I did almost everything.
 
“Last year I was pretty silent over pre-season because I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, this year I’m trying to be a bit more of a presence.
 
“Given I’m a ruckman, I’ve got to try to be a pretty big, loud bloke. I know I’ve got that in me and my teammates are helping me with that.”
 
In 2015, Pittonet was one of Box Hill Hawks’ most dependable players.
 
The 202-centimetre, 101-kilogram big man played 19 senior matches, with only six other players featuring in more games for the Hawks’ VFL affiliate.
 
Besides from his ruck work, adding another string to his bow has been a focal point – and Pittonet is getting a feel for life up forward.
 
With a reduction in the number of interchanges permitted at AFL level this season, developing the flexibility to play in multiple positions could be crucial to a potential debut for Pittonet in the brown and gold.
 
“I’ve really tried to put a lot of effort into being able to play two positions. Given there’s less rotations this year, I’m not going to be a chance of a game if I can’t,” Pittonet said.
 
“I’ve been working on being able to go forward and be a real target. I haven’t done that much forward work (before)… last year I tried to really focus on the midfield stuff so I could understand what was happening.”
 
He hasn’t set himself any in-season goals as yet for 2016, but rather is focusing on developing the areas of his game he sees room for improvement, and can see progress being made.
 
“I just wanted to work on the areas from last year that I thought I really needed to work on – my running, my forward work, my marking and my voice – which I think I’ve done alright so far,” Pittonet said.