Hawthorn midfielder Massimo D’Ambrosio said the Hawks "embraced the contest" in their 22-point win over the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium.

The 22-year-old told SEN’s The Captain’s Run that the Hawks made a point to try and rectify their poor pressure ratings in previous weeks and thought they delivered well on that front on Thursday night.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MASSIMO D'AMBROSIO ON THE CAPTAIN'S RUN WITH ANDY & JJ

On the lead-up and increasing tackling pressure

“It was a different lead up, definitely but we really embraced the contest this week and it was something we really needed to work on this week and I think we went to work on it and our pressure was really good for the whole game so I thought we were really good in that space.

“I feel like it was more just closing the gap, we were one or two metres off the last couple of weeks and this week we were really on the back of our opponents and we could close that gap quite quickly so that was something we really worked on during the week and I thought it was evident last night.”

On the midfield depth

“I feel like we’ve had a lot of guys run through there throughout the year and we’ve got a lot of depth, especially in the VFL that are playing really good footy. I think our strength in the midfield is our running power, so to have those guys like Wardy and Nash who can really test some midfields out going the other way, I feel like it’s a great part of our midfield.”

On Mabior Chol’s performance

“Definitely, I think he works really hard throughout the week on different crafts and it was great to see him get some rewards because he’s been working really hard. All we ask of Mabs is to create a contest down the line and compete at ground level and I think he brought that last night, but he’s been bringing it for a few weeks. He does cop a fair bit of criticism but I think it’s a bit unfair because he’s been such a great part of our team.”

On Lloyd Meek’s impact on the midfield

“Meeky is awesome, he’s a bit of a barometer for us, he’s someone who we can lean on for the whole game and he’s really bringing others along with him in terms of the physical side of the game and he’s such a great role model for a lot of us young boys.”

On excitement of winning on Thursday night footy

“It does actually, we didn’t play in many Thursday or Friday night games last year, so to be able to do that this year and come away with the win last night was awesome. And will be able to watch a few games this weekend and watch how teams go about it, it’s going to be good.”