HAWTHORN half-back Matt Suckling hopes his big summer in the gym will help him become a better player in 2012.

The left-footer earned a reputation as one of the AFL's best kicks last year, but admitted he needed to be stronger in contested situations.

Having added four kilograms to his frame over the pre-season and played in all of the Hawks' NAB Cup games, the 23-year-old is well prepared for the home and away season.

"At AFL level you need to be strong over the ball, and that was an area I felt that I could improve in," Suckling told hawthornfc.com.au.

"So I've just been trying to get in the gym and lift big, and I've noticed that it's starting to help a bit in games already."

Suckling is not the only young Hawk to have bulked up during the off-season.

Others such as Shane Savage, Liam Shiels and Cyril Rioli are all noticeably bigger, which Suckling believes will help the team improve on 2011.

"Last year a lot of the young blokes got exposure and played a lot of games, but it was pretty noticeable that we needed to put on some weight," he said.

"So over the summer it's been a really big emphasis to put on a few kilos so that we can match it with the likes of Geelong and Collingwood."

Fellow backman Ryan Schoenmakers said the addition of Jarrad Boumann to Hawthorn's key defensive stocks, along with the return of Stephen Gilham, was another reason to expect improvement.

"We've got a lot more depth down there than the last few years, which is handy," Schoenmakers said.

"It'll take some of the pressure of the players like 'Gibbo' [Josh Gibson], so it should be pretty good.

"We'll be able to really share the load this year."

Mark Macgugan covers Hawks news for afl.com.au and hawthornfc.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_MarkM.