Moving to Hawthorn in last year’s trade period, Jonathon Patton admitted at the time he was energised by the idea of playing in front of the Hawthorn faithful.

But as Patton took to the field on Sunday for the first time in his new colours, the MCG stands were empty.

“To be honest, you do miss the fans, especially that moment when you run out which is something I was looking forward to when coming here was that thrill when running out in front of 60,000-plus,” Patton said.

“But obviously that’s something that we can’t control at the moment.”

 With his last AFL appearance dating back to June 2018, Patton said the occasion, despite not being what he had imagined for so many months of preparation, was not lost on him.

“It was amazing and I’m just grateful to be playing again.

“Once the ball got rolling, I think you could see our energy out there and our bench was so loud – I couldn’t even hear the coaches when they were talking to me!”

But the former number one draft pick conceded there was some personal disappointment upon the news of the AFL’s decision to postpone the season.

“It’s pretty weird for me.

“Being out for so long, I just wanted to get that first one over and done with and find my feet again.

“But now we have a couple of months off again, but I guess we just have to take the positives and get some needed rest after a long pre-season.

“The boys are in a pretty good headspace and we just have to stay positive through this time and make the best out of a bad situation.”