After battling with injury, as well as experiencing a lack of team success in the early stages of the season, Hawthorn forward Paul Puopolo admits he at times felt frustrated with how his 2017 campaign unfolded.
“It was very frustrating,” said the three-time premiership player.
“The first part of the year was very disappointing, some of the losses we had were very unlike Hawthorn.
“And then in the period where we started playing some good footy, I got injured against the Crows and then missed out on a good patch… so yeah, it was frustrating.”
Puopolo played in just six winning games for the season after suffering a groin injury in Round 14 against Adelaide, and not returning until the Round 22 narrow loss to Carlton.
However, despite missing out on finals for the first time since 2009, Puopolo believes the playing group is heading in the right direction.
“It was promising signs for the future of Hawthorn, with the young kids playing some good footy.
“It definitely gives us a bit of strength heading into next year, as the young guys will keep developing and the older guys can get excited about it.”
With the players now set to enjoy an extended off-season, the Hawthorn goal sneak says he’ll take the time to refresh and rejuvenate ready for a big 2018 pre-season.
“I just need to freshen the mind a little bit.
“We’ve got a fair bit of time [off], and I guess the body is getting a little bit older, so I’m just going to try to listen to it and respect it.
