WILL Day watched Hawthorn's 2024 campaign end from the coaches' box at Adelaide Oval last September, seven days after watching the Hawks win a final for the first time in almost a decade from a similar vantage point at the MCG. 

Now nearly five months on, the 23-year-old is not just back to full health after a year that started with a stress fracture in his foot and ended with a complex collarbone injury, but poised to return to the form that resulted in his maiden Peter Crimmins Medal in 2023. 

Day returned to full fitness in December and has been one of the clear standouts on the track across the pre-season at Waverley Park, dominating the early block of match simulation ahead of practice matches against Geelong and the Western Bulldogs next month. 

The South Australian was a week-by-week proposition during last year's finals series after dislocating his collarbone in the round 23 win over Richmond, before ultimately missing the final three games of Hawthorn's third season under Sam Mitchell. 

When Day underwent surgery in late September, surgeons discovered that the unique injury was worse than first thought, with the midfielder risking the collarbone pressing into his windpipe and major blood vessels with another blow to the area.

"It was pretty tough watching on in the coaches' box. I felt like I wanted to be out there helping the boys. They did a great job. Watching on I was really proud of everyone. There was a lot of mixed emotions. I would have loved to have been out there," Day said from day one of Hawthorn's three-day camp on the Surf Coast.

"I think at the time I was pretty optimistic and trying to do everything I could to play, but after some further discussions with a few surgeons and post the surgery as well looking back, I probably wasn't going to be able to play with just the severity, where it was and the implications if I did it again. In hindsight, it was a really good decision by the medical team."

Day emerged as one of the premier young midfielders in the land in 2023 and was highly influential across 16 appearances last year, despite missing most of the pre-season and not starting his season until round seven. 

The Sacred Heart College product has been sent deep forward in brief bursts during the early block of match simulation in the next phase of his evolution in the game.  

"This time of year is a great time to experiment. I've done a little bit in the past and it's definitely something I'd like to try. If I can add another string to my bow to help the team, that would be great," Day said.

"I think having more impact forward of the ball will be great for me. I think you look at all the great midfielders around the competition and they have great impact forward."

Hawthorn returned to September for the first time since 2018 last year, comprehensively beating the Western Bulldogs in the elimination final to record the club's first finals win since the 2015 Grand Final, before falling four points short of the Power in the semi-final. 

Day, who is considered internally as a captaincy candidate after James Sicily, said the Hawks know progress isn't simply linear and haven't been resting on their laurels across the off-season and pre-season after making significant progress in 2024.

"Coming out of last year there was a lot of excitement, but since we started pre-season, it has been all systems go. I think coming off last year, in the end we weren't good enough. We know that if we do the same thing as last year, we're not going to get to where we want to go. I think we've been more driven than ever," he said.

"Internally we've raised our expectations as well. We aren't sitting back; we aren't really looking back at last season and content with that at all; although the expectations around us are higher, I think ours are even higher than that."

Hawthorn was one of the most active clubs during last year’s free agency and trade period, signing Josh Battle from St Kilda before executing a deal with West Coast for Tom Barrass just minutes before the deadline. 

Day said the star defenders have slotted in seamlessly since arriving, quickly proving to be strong cultural fits after making career-defining moves last October.  

"Obviously they are great footballers, but their character is something that has been pretty prominent as they've come in," he said. "They are both just really good people, which I think us as a club, we're really big on. They've already made an impact around the club. Great leadership from both of them; they’ve been a really good presence."

Connor Macdonald sent a scare through the Hawks' camp at Deakin University on Tuesday morning when he was helped off the track after landing awkwardly. 

The 22-year-old suffered a sprained ankle and left training in a moonboot, but doesn't require a scan with the club confident Macdonald has escaped anything serious. 

Jack Ginnivan followed a modified program on Tuesday while the goal sneak recovers from a lingering adductor concern that has hampered his pre-season. 

The Hawks are completing a three-day camp based out of Torquay ahead of the AAMI Community Series in February. 

Hawthorn opens its 2025 campaign with a trip to Sydney on March 7.