‘Premierships not built overnight’: Hawks ready to begin new path under Mitchell

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has warned supporters “premiership teams aren’t built overnight”, as the Hawks finetune preparations for a fresh era under their new figurehead.

Life without Alastair Clarkson begins in earnest on Sunday when the Hawks open their season with a lunchtime engagement against North Melbourne at the MCG.

Mitchell said he had given little thought to what it meant to him personally to have his chance in the top role, but said there was much to get excited about in terms of what the Hawks had done at selection.

The Hawks will field their youngest side since 2005 when Lance Franklin, Jordan Lewis and Jarryd Roughead were in their rookie seasons. The new breed will have an average age of 23.9 years and 72.4 games of experience.

“We have worked on a lot over things over the summer. There has been a lot of change. Some of the players back in the side are very exciting,” Mitchell said on Saturday.

“We have a couple of debuts ... a Hawthorn debutant in Max Lynch and two guys who hardly played last year in Sic [James Sicily] and Gunners [Jack Gunston]. I think there is excitement all over the field. Even a guy like Mitch Lewis, it’s the first time in his career that he has played in round one.

“There are a lot of unknowns about us at the moment, for us and for everyone else.”

What is clear is that the Hawks understand a return to their golden years when Mitchell was a player is sometime away.

“We know where we are going. We know that premiership teams aren’t built overnight, but we are certainly looking to execute the plan we have in place,” he said.

The two debutants are the hard-running Josh Ward and Connor Macdonald, who is highly regarded for his work in the contest. Lynch, a former Magpie, has quickly become a much-loved character, and will need to play a key role without skipper Ben McEvoy on hand. McEvoy and Luke Breust are in health and safety protocols.

“We have got two ruckmen [including Ned Reeves] both playing and, with Ben McEvoy out of the side, it is a huge opportunity for those two guys. Lynchy has certainly fitted in really well. He has got a great big personality and is telling stories. He has been a great addition to the locker-room,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said Changkuoth Jiath, who had a PCL injury late last season, was ready to go, having completed three quarters in the VFL last week. Mitchell said he “certainly picked himself with his foot work and how he went about his footy last week”.

The Hawks have had poor starts in their two practice matches, against Collingwood and Richmond, but Mitchell expects better against the Kangaroos.