Refreshed and "having not missed a beat" through the pre-season, Hodge said the miserable preliminary final defeat to Collingwood in 2011 and the grand final loss to Sydney a year later still rankled, despite having since experienced the joy of back-to-back flags.

"Because we have got so many guys who were there in 2011 and '12, you still remember the heartache of some of those games," Hodge told Fairfax Media on Thursday.

"That was our motivation last year – yeah, we had a good year [in 2013], we were able to be victorious on the last Saturday of September – but because we still also had a lot of guys from 2008 as well, [when] we got complacent and probably didn't push each other as hard as we should, we made sure last year that wasn't going to be the case.

"Blokes were going to work hard and push each other. It was mainly player-driven. Coaches were there to make sure the standards were good, but it was mainly player-driven.

"There is no doubt this year it's exactly the same thing. No one is complacent. If you do have a bad training session it will be one of the guys getting up and having a bit of a go at the boys, rather than the coaches."

Hodge said he could not think of a more complete performance than last season's stunning 63-point grand final win over the powerless Swans, a match in which the Hawks vowed to crunch their rivals – Dan Hannebery was one victim – from the opening bounce.

Having struggled early in the narrow preliminary final win against Port Adelaide, the Hawks were determined to take charge early.

They now have the opportunity to do what even the dominant Hawthorn premiership sides of 1988-89 could not: capture three consecutive flags.

Internally, as was the case last season, the Hawks rarely mention the ultimate prize.

Rather, it is about focusing on the statistics that matter in ensuring they finish in the top four. It is felt this also eases any added pressure some players could feel if the immediate expectations are at their grandest.

Buoyed by the pre-season form of former Melbourne free agent James Frawley, the Hawks will again boast remarkable depth, including eight players ranked as elite by Champion Data.

In terms of player ranking points, the statistics also show the gap between the club's top four players and the rest of the list is closer than the average across rival clubs.

Hodge, who again will be a Puma ambassador this season, said financial sacrifice had been important in achieving this.

"I think a lot of that is how the club recruited. I guess the blokes are not willing to go and get every cent they can, they are willing to take a little bit less so we can go and get blokes like 'Chip' Frawley, Brian Lake, Jack Gunston, David Hale, Josh Gibson.

"The amount of blokes we have brought in from other clubs because the coaches not only identified them but we had room, and blokes have been selfless in making sure they are not greedy as far as [what] they get paid.

"We have been able to keep a good list together for a long period of time. We are probably following what Geelong did when they started that back in 2007."

Hodge said Cyril Rioli had trained strongly through the pre-season, with the Hawks hopeful a modified program will help him avoid the hamstring woes that have plagued his career.

Brendan Whitecross, having endured two knee reconstructions, has also impressed.

The Hawks open their NAB Challenge series in what looms as a sellout clash against Collingwood in Launceston on February 26.

"We have been lucky, we have had a lot of numbers on the track," Hodge said. "I think, as far a [Friday], we have upwards of 40, 41 players. You can't complain at this stage. People always say it's the hardest pre-season ever, it's just as hard as last year, just as hard as the year before."