Hawthorn ruckman Ben McEvoy confirms that some hard conversations amongst an intense internal review is the reason the club has started 2018 so strongly.
The Hawks were 0-4 after four games in 2017 and made an obvious shift towards a youth movement and mini rebuild through the latter parts of the season.
But 2018 has been a different story for Alastair Clarkson's troops, who were undefeated before running into a rampant Richmond side last weekend that edged a 13-point victory.
McEvoy confirms that the club has always had faith that they could bounce back amid a strong dissection of their disappointing 2017.
“You’ve got to play the hand you’re dealt with a little bit,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“Last year we were certainly expecting to be more competitive than we were in the early parts of the year, but I think it was a blessing in disguise that we got hit between the eyes a little bit. We had a lot of injuries too, which made it tough.
“We had to have a good hard look at ourselves. We were able to reset and have a really strong second half of the year and at the same time get some experience which would hold us in good stead.
“From this time last year when we were 0-4, things have turned around pretty quickly, but we certainly always believed we could do that.”
The Hawks will look to continue their strong start to the season when they meet Melbourne on Sunday afternoon in an massive round four clash.