Collingwood duo Bobby Hill and Ash Johnson have spoken on their desire to once again lift the premiership cup in 2025.

The 24-year-old Hill made no attempt to hide his frustrations over the team's lacklustre premiership defence, a season which saw the Victorian powerhouse fall out of eight for the first time since 2021.

Despite the disappointment of 2024, the small forward is confident the Magpies can bounce back in 2025.

"Not backing it up hurts and it gets to you obviously, watching other teams in the grand final and you're not in it," Hill said.

"We're all hungry and knowing what we can do to teams we're very excited to see what we can do this year."

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When analysing where things went wrong for the ninth-placed Pies last season, Hill placed a large emphasis on the team's ball movement, with Hill referring to the club's "fast footy" link-up play as its "one wood".

"Our ball movement was the best in the competition (in 2023) and we didn't bring that in 2024," he said. "So if we bring that we're fine."

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 30: Bobby Hill of the Magpies celebrates kicking a goal during the 2023 AFL Grand Final match between Collingwood Magpies and Brisbane Lions at Melbourne Cricket Ground, on September 30, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

On a different note, after a disappointing individual campaign in 2024 which saw the forward play just three senior games, Johnson discussed his pre-season and addressed questions over where he stands as he heads into his fifth season of professional football.

When pressed on where he can improve his game for the upcoming season, Johnson spoke on a need to get back to the fundamentals that saw him feature heavily in 2023.

"I'm getting there slowly," Johnson said.

"My body's feeling good, but obviously there's still a lot of work to do so I just got to keep working and get better.

"I just need to get involved more with the talls and key forwards and get back to the things that slipped away from me."

At the other end of the spectrum, Hill is looking to improve upon what has been a remarkably successful two-year stint at Collingwood, a tenure which has seen the crowd favourite already capture a premiership, a Norm Smith Medal, Mark of the Year and a club leading goalkicker title.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 15: Ash Johnson of the Magpies kicks the ball during the 2024 AFL Round 01 match between the Collingwood Magpies and the Sydney Swans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 15, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

In typical small-forward fashion, when questioned on his game and where he can improve in 2025, Hill cheekily responded with a simple response... "Kick more goals".

After missing out on September action by the narrowest of margins in 2024, Collingwood will be hoping that a return to their 2023 brand of footy along with the acquisitions of Dan Houston and Harry Perryman will be enough to see them back in the finals fold.