Hawthorn heads to Brisbane this week to start off their 2025 AFLW season, keen to see how they stack up against the best in the competition.
Starting his second season as head coach, Hawthorn AFLW's Daniel Webster spoke exclusively to Zero Hanger about the Hawks' hopes for this year.
"There is that sense of anticipation leading into round one," said Webster.
"You do all the work, but you never know quite what you are going to get.
"There's always that part of it which is good."
In his second season, Webster believes that he knows the squad better, which will hold the team in good stead as they push for their second finals series opportunity since entering the AFLW in 2022.
"The way that we have trained, I feel like we're a bit more confident going in that we're going to be competitive from the get-go, whereas last year there was so much uncertainty around everything."
Before joining Hawthorn as head coach, Webster was part of the impressive Brisbane Lions franchise, where he was an assistant coach under Craig Starcevich.
Starting the season off against his old team and one of the benchmarks of the AFLW competition is something that the coach is looking forward to.
"Anytime you get to play the best teams, it is excellent as they're in the position where we want to be in.
"Getting to play them early in the season is fantastic.
"We're super excited and looking forward to the challenge."
Webster signed on to extend his time at Hawthorn for a further year and said the decision was a no-brainer.
"I love the program and I love the club.
"We set ourselves to have an exciting couple of years.
"It was absolutely a no-brainer for me.
"Hopefully, there are plenty of years to come and lots of success."
Hawthorn were the surprise packet of season nine of the AFLW, rocketing up the ladder and claiming second place at the end of the regular season, before heartbreakingly losing consecutive finals to Brisbane and Port Adelaide.
The pain of losing in straight sets has been a motivating factor for the side throughout the pre-season, driving them to push further into the finals series.
"I'm a competitive person, I've got competitive staff and very competitive players.
"It absolutely did. You've got to step up and execute at the right time, and we didn't.
"If we're smart, we'll learn from it, and if we're not, we'll drop back.
"We've utilised those games from the lessons and learning on how to perform in a high-pressure environment.
"The reality is, our group hadn't been exposed to a lot of that.
"That experience as a starting point is awesome and exactly what we need.
"The next step is to learn and apply it, so having Brisbane first up is awesome, to get a gauge of if we've learned some of those lessons."
Heading into the season, Hawthorn's experienced players have led the way during the pre-season, both through training and pre-season hitouts against Melbourne and Richmond.
Webster is confident that the experienced players will help lead the team to sustained success in the competition.
"Kashy (Kaitlyn Ashmore) has had a phenomenally good pre-season. She's covered the ground incredibly well.
"Tilly Lucas-Rodd has been on fire.
"Bates (Emily) and West (Eliza), our captain and vice captain, I reckon Westy must be 20 to 25 per cent fitter and stronger as well.
"The change in what she has been able to do athletically is brilliant.
"It's just exciting, when you've got your more experienced players still chasing games, it's inspiring for the rest of the group and sets a standard.
"We need that as we still have levels to go."
Young gun Jasmine Fleming, who underwent a modified pre-season program, once again appears ready to take her game to the next level, and Webster is confident that we will see the best of the young midfielder this year.
"Ever since I've been in the competition, Jazz has been touted as one of the next big stars.
"She had a good season last year, albeit a little inconsistent.
"In terms of where we think she can get to, all the evidence I have seen this pre-season suggests that she's about to take a big step forward.
"We're all incredibly excited to see what she's going to offer."
One of the Hawks' 2023 draftees, Laura Stone, missed most of last season through injury, with Webster excited to see what she can add to an already talented midfield with Bates, West and Fleming.
"Stoney is fascinating.
"She's one of those natural footballers with great size and great pace.
"She really enjoys the contested side of the game.
"I think she'll have a far bigger role this year coming into her second season, and we'll see her obviously playing more through the midfield."
Webster's expectations for the season ahead are for the team to continue improving and to put themselves in positions to win games.
"The expectation is always to win. That's what we're chasing.
"That's how I operate, but the part around that from an expectation standpoint is you have to have high expectations around performing and preparing the squad to perform.
"If we get that part right, we will give ourselves every opportunity to get the wins on the board.
"That's how we operate and how we will continue to operate."
Hawthorn start their chase for their maiden AFLW premiership this Sunday, when they take on last season's runners-up, Brisbane Lions, in a blockbuster clash at Brighton Homes Arena.
