Hawthorn CEO Ash Klein, Coach Sam Mitchell and stars Dylan Moore, Conor Nash and Mitch Lewis joined the crew at SEN to chat about the pre-season in 2024, their Round 1 match-up against Essendon, and more as part of the club's SEN Membership Day.

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Check out what some of our Hawks had to say ahead of their 2024 campaign.

Sam Mitchell – SEN Breakfast (Kane & Bucks) 

On the high-forward role: "I think the mix of the front half - Luke Breust, Nick Watson, Jack Ginnivan, Dylan Moore and Blake Hardwick - is still going to be a work in progress for a little while yet. I think all of those guys are in our best side, so how we fit them in and what roles they can play we'll see. Having Moore back will be really important for us because he can play so consistently. Even setting everyone else to make sure everyone is playing the way that they should. He is probably underrated outside our four walls, he is one of our most important players."

On the support from members: "The Hawks fans have been fantastic, last year at our MCG home games we averaged more than 50,000 - I really feel like the Hawks fans and members are right behind us. It's going to be an exciting journey, we're still young and developing and we're going to get better and better."

Mitch Lewis – SEN Sportsday (Kane Cornes & Gerard Healy)

On the practice game against the Western Bulldogs: "We were kept in it during the second quarter through their poor goalkicking, but I thought we played a lot more our way in that second term. The second half was quite disappointing. It's a strange one, playing the same opposition twice heading into the season so it's hard to know if the Dogs are really good or if we were really poor. We're still very optimistic heading into Round 1, we've got a couple of key guys to come back into the side which is nice."

On Jack Ginnivan: "Jack has settled in really well, he's impressed me with the way he has come in. His knowledge of the game is a stand-out as well for a young player. He is someone already in the forward line, speaking up, talking about structures and trends of the game.

On Nick Watson: "That'll be up to the coaching staff, but I think Nick he has done enough to earn a Round 1 spot, he's going to be one hell of a player. I don't think his size is anything to worry about to be honest, if anything it plays to his benefit because he is actually so difficult to tackle. He gets so low to the ground and he's quite strong already for a young player. When he has the ball in hand, his ability to move on the spot, change direction and lower his centre of gravity to evade tackles is probably one of the best we have in our team. His got his tricks, his got speed and he's got excitement."

Dylan Moore – SEN Afternoons (Dwayne Russell) 

On his glandular fever: "I'm feeling pretty good, it was a rough couple weeks when I first got diagnosed, but I'm starting to do some running and contact stuff now which has been great. I've learnt to have a bit more self control during this period - there is no point really pushing anything because I might come out of it the wrong side. I'll need to put out a big session next week to put my hand up for Round 1."

On the new-look forward line: "It's exciting for us, what I believe is that great competition eliminates complacency. We've got some good players that who knows if they play or not, just because we've got so much competition there now. We haven't had that in the past few years. It's great to see Jack Ginnivan and Mabior Chol come in and make an impact, Nick Watson has been tearing the house down he's going to be a weapon for years to come, Jack Gunston can play anywhere and is such an experienced head."

Ash Klein – SEN The Run Home (Andy & Gazey)

On Hawthorn's membership for 2024: "We've had a great start to the year, we're already up to 65,000-plus members, which is about 4,000 more than this time last year. I think that comes off the back of a great second half of the season last year, the members and fans buoyed about what they're seeing on the track and around the club."

On the season ahead: "Our fans showed up in droves last year - we averaged over 50,000 at the MCG when we played our six home games. We haven't had that for about 10 years, so that is a fantastic return. I know our coach and players loved the fact they were turning up and supporting the team. Our fans have been amazing, and I'm sure we'll see it again this year - we've got some big, blockbuster games - Melbourne, Collingwood, Richmond - they're all to come this year at the MCG, so I'd be pretty surprised if we didn't get 50,000-80,000 across those games."

Conor Nash – SEN Mornings (Sam Edmund)

On his footy journey: "When I first came over I was quite green, you just want to throw your body into everything and have maximum output which can sometimes get you. Now, I've got a key focus on the things I want to get better on during the pre-season - just having that more refined focus has been a big improvement for me. I don't shy away from the fact that my career was at a crossroads a few years ago, so being able to transition into that midfield role as been a big positive for me."

On the midfield group: "We know we're not going to have Will Day for a little while (due to injury), but the improvement of Henry Hustwaite and Cam Mackenzie has been remarkable over the pre-season, so we'll certainly see them a bit more. Josh Ward as well has gone to another level. I think it's going to be a fair mix - I think it will be a lot more fluid this year in terms of who's in and out. I think fans will see a bit of a different blend. For Hawthorn to keep improving its essential that we get a lot more guys through there as well."