PROMISING Hawthorn youngster Alex Woodward has full confidence in his twice reconstructed right knee, declaring its strength was far from his mind when he made his return to football last Thursday night.

The tough in and under midfielder showed why he was a highly rated prospect when drafted by the Hawks in the 2011, with 17 disposals and four tackles in the thumping win over the Lions at Etihad Stadium.

But perhaps the most exciting aspect of his long-awaited return was that he wasn’t impeded by his right knee.

“I was completely fine with my confidence in my right knee, I’ve done two years of rehab now so if anything it should be a lot stronger than my left one,” Woodward told hawthornfc.com.au

“I think that’s part of the mental battle, being comfortable with where you’re at with your knee and I think I’ve done that throughout my rehab. It has become second nature because I didn’t even think about it.”

It was an impressive first hit-out for the 20 year old, who was just happy to survive the first five minutes of the game.

When Woodward suffered his first anterior cruciate ligament rupture, he had barely worked up a sweat in the opening quarter of the NAB Cup game against Western Bulldogs in Launceston.

“I was looking up at the clock and then realised I’d lasted longer than five minutes this time and was thinking that’s going to be a good feeling at the end of the game,” he recalled.

“It was relief and just happiness – all the boys got around me and so did my family as well as all the supporters on social media, it was overwhelming.”

But Woodward didn’t only just survive the first quarter; his performance was eye-catching. He gathered eight touches in the opening half hour, with his ability to win the contested ball a highlight.

With his standards high though, he hopes to improve on that performance in the coming weeks.

“It was a good start for me, a good building block coming into this season,” Woodward said.

“It was a good feeling to actually get a touch, I was hoping to be a bit more composed with the footy - I don’t think I knew how much time I had with the ball.

“Throughout the game I was getting my hands on it, I just needed to be a bit cleaner but that’ll come with more games.”

Before Thursday night, Woodward had played just one competitive match - an intra-club club game on February 7 in two years after suffering his first ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in a NAB Cup game on March 3, 2012.

It’s fair to say his return was well overdue and when it was confirmed, there was nothing but the feeling of excitement running through his body.

“We didn’t find out the squad until a couple of days before so I was just training normally and had no idea I was going to get picked,” he recalled.

“Obviously when I did I was really excited, all the coaches saw the big smile on my face – it just felt like a good reward and surprise.

“It capped off not only the pre-season I’ve had but all the rehab and hard work I’ve done throughout the two seasons on the sidelines.”