A breakout season doesn't often come shortly after being moved onto an AFL club's rookie list, but that was the case, and motivation, for Hawthorn forward Dylan Moore.
Throughout a 2020 campaign heavily impacted by COVID, the crafty goalsneak was commonly in a selection limbo between nearing an AFL opportunity and balancing a season without VFL football.
During that same year, Moore found himself featuring in the colours of rival clubs as reserve squads looked to stay in touch with normality and play out practice matches across the course of a makeshift schedule.
Opportunities under senior coach Alastair Clarkson eventually emerged for Moore in the final three rounds of the season, featuring against the Saints, Bulldogs and Suns.
The Hawks would record two losses and a win respectively, with their season-ending triumph over Gold Coast being Moore's career-best performance in his three years at the club, recording 25 disposals and a goal in the 51-point win.
Despite polling a sole Brownlow vote from the game, Moore faced an uncertain future at Waverley as his contract reached its expiry.
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As the off-season continued, the Hawks made the call to move Moore from their senior list in a decision that would see the Eastern Ranges product re-listed as a rookie.
Still, 2021 saw Moore thrive in Clarkson's final year at the club, amassing the equal-second most goals for the Hawks behind veteran sharpshooter Luke Breust.
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The list call from the season prior had become the "driving factor" for Moore to prove his capability in the top flight, having felt the club may not have valued his place in the squad as much as he had perceived.
"The fact that maybe the club didn't want me and they didn't think I was as important as I thought I was ... That was a massive driving factor," Moore told Zero Hanger.
"Just the fact that I didn't feel like the club had as much belief in me as I had in myself.
"That pre-season last year was a massive one. Just to go 'nah I want to prove a lot of people wrong'. I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder going into that year.
"I wanted to be playing AFL footy and show everyone that I can compete at the elite level."
While his fourth-place finish in the club's best and fairest last year was a major stepping stone for Moore, the 22-year-old understands there are areas to add to his game.
Mentors in Breust and Jack Gunston have placed Moore in good stead to not only refine his own brand but recognise his place in leading the "new wave" of names at Hawthorn.
"I'm still pretty inexperienced compared to half the players in the competition, so I know I've still got a lot to learn," he added.
"I've still got to use Breust and (Jack) Gunston and those around me to really take me to the next step in my footy career.
"I felt like last year I played pretty well but I was pretty inconsistent, so this year was more how I can individually take my game to the next level but also with a new wave coming through I thought I have a bit more responsibility."
Having cut his teeth among the Hawks' band of lethal small forwards, the 22-year-old has gained an unparalleled grasp of the game from Breust in particular.
Since Moore first stepped foot into the club in 2017, Breust has become a significant figure in his development.
"I'm very lucky that I've had Breust my whole career so far, and hopefully for a few more years," Moore said. "He's been the biggest influence on my career to date."
"He sends me messages going 'I need you to do this this week, focus on this'. I can go into a game and I know those are the things I've got to focus on because that's what he's done throughout his whole career and it's got him to [being] the player he's become.
"He's been instrumental in my development, I've leant on him throughout the past 12 to 18 months on the training track, off-field, on field.
"He's kind of like an unofficial mentor that has helped me so much."
Hawthorn entered 2022 with the third youngest list in the AFL, having 26 players aged 24 and under as they work through a rebuild under new coach Sam Mitchell.
The club's balance between senior heads and neophytes has placed their focus away from wins and losses, instead of setting their focal point on nurturing the next generation of talent.
"We obviously got a bit younger, demographically as a group and there are more blokes in a team that are under 24 than there is above, so I think those older guys have also realised we've got to help these younger boys really progress quicker because maybe the gap in our list from the best to the worst was too large," the Caulfield Grammar graduate delineated.
"So this pre-season they've been on the front foot and are really progressing us younger lads to tighten that gap so that we can get better players in for the long term.
"We're not too focussed on that win-loss ratio, even though obviously winning football games is a lot of fun. A major focus at the moment is how we can best develop our list.
"... Half of us are late draft picks or have battled throughout our careers to get to this point. So we're going to show everyone what we can do."
Moore will seek to extend his impressive start to the 2022 season as Hawthorn face an undefeated Carlton side at the MCG on Sunday.
The Hawks - who are also 2-0 - will enter the match as ladder leaders, having claimed wins over North Melbourne and Port Adelaide in the opening fortnight of the season.
