Hawthorn forward Mitch Lewis has broken his silence after turning his back on rival interest to re-sign at Hawthorn for four years.
The 96-gamer has not missed since returning from an ACL rupture late last year and will be critical to Hawthorn's premiership push with the opportunity to play in a contending side a key part of his decision.
“We've got a great group of players at the moment, a brand new facility. Hopefully we can go ahead and win a flag this year, we're in a good position and poised to do so but in terms of the next four years, I think we're going to be challenging every year which is the exciting part,” Lewis said on Thursday.
“I've been through some times where we weren't so good and we were down the bottom of the ladder so to leave just as we're getting good would have been a silly decision so super excited to challenge for silverware.”
Lewis highlighted the one-point Easter Monday win earlier this year as a career highlight and pointed to a 16-disposal, two-goal performance against Collingwood in 2019 which gave him belief he belonged at the top level.
Hawthorn has been linked to Gold Coast forward Ben King but Lewis expressed confidence in the current attacking mix.
“Having a lot of confidence in my own body and as cliché as it is, having a full pre-season and being able to attack this year the way I have, the group around as well, I'm really enjoying being part of the forward line and it's going to be exciting for years to come,” he said.
The deal takes Lewis through to 2030, by which time he will be 31.
“I absolutely love being here, I love all of the people within the football club,” the 27-year-old said.
“Obviously they drafted me with the second last pick in the 2016 National Draft and it's really nice to repay that faith. It's my 10th year and really excited to become a one-club player.”
