Hawks forward Mitch Lewis says his younger teammates are driving the standards of the playing group heading into the 2022 season.

Speaking to RSN on Tuesday morning, Lewis said injuries to some of his more experienced teammates in recent years has in turn provided greater opportunities for developing talent.

“We’ve had a changing list over the last few years and that’s given an opportunity for guys like Will Day, Changkuoth Jiath, Dylan Moore and James Worpel to really shine,” Lewis said.

“You really feel like that they’re going to be the next leaders at the footy club, which is really exciting for us.

“To have a young group driving standards, that’s going to be good for us in the future as well.”

Lewis said the anticipated return of some of Hawthorn's stars including James Sicily will provide added quality and depth to the side.

But Lewis said the disruptions helped build the confidence levels across his team.

“You sort of forget about guys like Sis who didn’t play for the entire 2021 season,” he said.

“You put guys like that back in and if we’re at a full-strength side, the back six looks really strong.

“I feel like a couple of those half-backers might need to find a new home on the wing or something because they can’t all fit back there.”

Lewis, who is now heading into his sixth season at Hawthorn, said he has placed “fairly high” expectations on himself.

“I feel like I’ve under-performed especially last year and the year before, so I’m looking forward to having a big 2022 season,” he said.

“Hopefully our style of ball movement and game plan can help the forwards have a strong season.”

The Hawks are now into their second week of pre-season since returning from the Christmas break.

Lewis said the vibe was different within the club since Sam Mitchell took over as coach late last year.

“Obviously it’s very different, Clarko (Alastair Clarkson) spent a hell of a lot of time at the club over the journey, and no doubt it will be different with Mitch,” he said.

“But it’s a very exciting time at the club, everyone is very optimistic about the season ahead, he’s set out some really strong game plan that we can all follow.

“The boys are really keen to get stuck into 2022.”

A new look coaching group has also created a different energy within his the playing group.

“There’s a lot of input coming from guys that have entered from other clubs,” Lewis.

“Mitch is just trying to do the best thing to make us as good at footy as we can be. He’s open to try anything at training which is great for us.”

Lewis said he has already built a pretty strong connection with forwards coach David Hale, despite only having known each other for a short period of time.

“He was s star player - he played over 200 games and kicked a hell of a lot of goals,” he said.

“He’s offered a lot of advice since he’s come back to the club. Hopefully the advice he can give on the footy field works as well as our relationship off it.”

Hawthorn's first practice game is scheduled for March 5 against Richmond with the venue and time yet to be confirmed.

Lewis said the players have already begun match simulation as part of its pre-season training program this week in preparation for returning to games.

“Games are actually not too far away when you think about it, practice matches start next month," he said.

“You probably need to get match ready in the next couple of months, so that’s what we’ve been doing.”