HAWTHORN midfielder Xavier Ellis says his club’s fans have plenty of reasons to be bullish about 2010 as the Hawks approach their NAB Cup opener against Richmond.

With new recruits Josh Gibson and Shaun Burgoyne fitting in seamlessly and a strong squad set to be picked, Ellis said the players couldn’t wait to make amends for their disappointing premiership defence.

“We saw some statistics the other day that we’d done well over 1500 more hours than we did last year in pre-season. You can do the math - it’s pretty obvious we’re going to be fitter, stronger and faster,” he said.

“This year, we’ve just been fortunate in that the surgeries that needed to happen were done early and the blokes who need to be fit are fit. It’s a fantastic lead-up to round one.”

Ellis said Burgoyne, who will resume playing closer to the start of the premiership season, had added more than just his skill and pace to the Hawks’ midfield group.

“It’s pretty obvious how he’s been going when he’s been voted into the leadership group in his first year at the club,” he said.

“He came into the first meeting with the midfield group and he grabbed the bull by the horns and said ‘This is what I think works’. He showed us a few things.

“He’s running, he’s fit, he’s strong and he’s fast. I think Shaun will be played at the back end of the NAB Cup and he’ll be a great addition to the side.”

Ellis was joined by teammate Tom Murphy and NSW rookie Michael Johnston at a clinic for young footballers at Baulkham Hills in Sydney’s north western suburbs on Tuesday night.

Murphy was similarly optimistic about the Hawks’ prospects for 2010, hailing Gibson’s arrival as a great boost but insisting the rest of the team needed to lift as well.

“We had record membership and unfortunately we sort of let the members down a bit by not making the finals,” he said.

“The fans will be looking for us to improve a bit. It’s great to have Josh Gibson on board and I’m sure he’ll go a long way to helping us out, but I think the whole team in general, for 2010, we’re looking to improve a fair bit.”

The injury woes that saw Trent Croad and Stephen Gilham both absent for much of the season forced Murphy, a mid-sized defender, to spend time on key opposition forwards.

But he said the experience ended up as a positive for the Hawks defenders as they were forced to adapt to different challenges.

“A couple of times I did find myself out of my weight class but that’s the thing with modern footy these days - there’s no such thing as set one on ones any more,” he said.