When the fixture for the 2020 season was first released on October 31 last year, Jonathon Patton would have begun eyeing off a Round 18 match-up with his former side GWS.

That first meeting with those familiar faces was meant to be on July 18.

Now, despite the season having been delayed nearly three months once it’s all said and done, that date has been brought forward with the Hawks set to take on the Giants on July 5.

“I did see that,” Patton admitted.

“The venue has changed as well; it was going to be at the ‘G but now it’s up there!”

“But I’m really excited, I actually love playing at that ground so hopefully I can do a number on them!”

We need this clearance, who goes inside? Take your pick!

The 27-year-old said the release of the revised match schedule on Monday had heightened his excitement for footy’s return after weeks of dealing with unknowns.

“I think now there is really something to look forward to.

“We obviously knew we were playing again around June 11.

“But until you actually see who you’re playing, what times, where – that’s when you can really start to pencil it in and start to get your head around it, especially because it’s Geelong in Geelong.

“Now we can really start looking forward to it.”

With Hawthorn having not played at GMHBA Stadium since 2006, Patton will be one of only a few Hawks who will have had experience at the venue, having played there three times as a Giant.

“It is such a different ground to anywhere else, it’s almost like a big basketball court being so long and narrow.

“I was chatting to a few of the forwards yesterday about it and the way they defend on that ground – because it is not like the MCG for instance with its width.

“So, there might have to be a little bit of adjustment, but I think that’s what this team is really good at so I’m pretty confident we will be able to do a really good job.”

With the news of the season’s postponement arriving the day of the Hawks’ Round 1 win over Brisbane, the squad’s return to the club on Monday marked the first time it had been together in more than two months.  

Patton explained he found the latter stages of his stint of social isolation easier to deal with as details of the squad’s return began to take shape. 

“The back end was a lot better than the start of it.

“Once we all had some clarity on return dates, I think everyone started to feel a bit better about things.

“For a while there, we were just being told we don’t know when, or even if, we’re going to return so once we got that news, I think it made everyone feel a lot better.

“I think the motivation levels were starting to get tested when we weren’t sure whether we’d return at all.”

The key forward said the side was quickly into the swing of things on Monday, with an intense training hit-out welcoming the players back.

“We had a massive session yesterday.

“We were out there for so long, it felt like about three hours.

“But it was really good, everyone was going very hard – it certainly doesn’t get any easier!”