Hawthorn will be a curious club this year as they embark on another season of rebuilding under senior coach Sam Mitchell.
An off-season of further personnel change has left the Hawks on the verge of containing their spiral toward the foot of the ladder, ready to spring back up in the coming years as their younger ranks continue to cut their teeth.
Carrying the youngest and least experienced side into 2023, the Hawks will find it tough most weeks before the green shoots start to appear.
With a focus on youth, a handful of new faces joining the cause, and Mitchell's senior coaching career still in its infancy, we list five burning questions for the Hawks heading into their second season under their club great.
5. What can we expect from Fergus Greene?
After a dominant two years in the VFL with Box Hill, Fergus Greene was handed a second chance in the top flight and became the latest to make the move to Bunjil Bagora from Middleborough Road.
Greene notched up 53 goals from 17 appearances for Box Hill in 2022 to earn himself an AFL list spot through delisted free agency, hoping his second stint at the top level is more successful than his five-game tenure at the Western Bulldogs.
The 25-year-old joins a Hawks unit that is starved of goalkicking talent outside of top forward Mitch Lewis and veteran Luke Breust.
Yet to make his maiden appearance in brown and gold, Greene is seen as a potential saviour for Sam Mitchell's plans in attack off the back of an impressive pre-season run and his VFL form.
But what should Hawks fans expect from the Sandhurst native this year?
The delisted free agency pool has proven to be a goldmine for multiple clubs in recent years, with Geelong plucking Tyson Stengle from the open market and turning the small forward into an All-Australian in his first year back in the AFL.
While a 50+ goal season will go well beyond expectations for Greene in 2023, a campaign that places the medium-sized target on an All-Australian trajectory for the years to come isn't out of the question.
