“Different” is the way Grant Birchall described the feeling on day one of a pre-season that was minus two very familiar faces in Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis.
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The departure of that duo to West Coast and Melbourne, as well as the introduction of a few new faces, has created different vibe at Waverley for the 2013-15 premiers as they attempt to get back to the top of the football mountain.
“We are obviously missing a couple of experienced players now, but we do have a pretty young group when you do look at it, which gives some guys a really good opportunity the chance to step up,’’ the Devonport product told Fairfax Media at the club’s training base in Melbourne recently.
“It’s a little bit different, as they are two strong personalities around the footy club, great leaders and great players.
“But that’s footy these days and change is a good thing and it is really exciting here.
“Getting guys like Jaeger O'Meara, Tommy Mitchell, (Ricky) Henderson and (Tyrone) Vickery across, it really adds some freshness here.
“It’s a little bit of a different feel, but I do think this change is the best thing for us.”
Birchall was genuinely excited about what lies ahead as he looks to add premiership medallion number five to his impressive collection.
At 28 and with 240 games under his belt he is one of the elder statesmen and is keen to further enhance his on-field leadership abilities.
“You do have to step up a little bit, as we do have a lot of young blokes,’’ he said.
“But you don’t try to change too much, just stick to your strengths and work on what you need to work on.’’
“I believe in the group.
“I have always have this strong belief and confidence in this group as we have really good people and really strong leadership with a good depth of leaders and we know how to win.
“We have proven that for a long period of time. It is a really exciting period for the club with this change, and it is one we are looking forward to.”
Birchall described his pre-season as being ‘’strong”, saying he felt fit and ready to go for another campaign after not missing a game last season as the Hawks reached the semi-finals.
Hawthorn will open their season against Geelong at Launceston’s University of Tasmania Stadium on Friday, February 17, at 7.40pm as part of the JLT Community Series.
Alex Fair
Deputy Editor of The Advocate on the North-West Coast of Tasmania.
Deputy Editor of The Advocate on the North-West Coast of Tasmania.
