His comments came a day after Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson conceded the club did have room in it's salary cap to fit recruits Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O'Meara while retaining Lewis and Sam Mitchell (who was traded to West Coast).

But Lewis says despite the disappointment of only being offered a one year contract at Hawthorn, he has no regrets about moving to Melbourne.

"My personality - and I think I get this from my dad - is just to move on," he told SEN radio. "Whatever has happened I just move on, I just feel that life is too short to worry about what has happened in the past and as much as my wife hates that I just have that ability to move on whether it be from a win a loss, something big in my life ... anything negative in my life I just forget about and try and move on."

Reflecting on the Hawks' tumultuous off-season, Lewis said he knew when Clarkson asked to visit him at home that there was bad news coming and it likely involved being moved on.

"I'm not that sort of person 'oh he's coming around to give me a pat on the back and say that you are captain next year' That's not how I think," he said. "I've been involved with football clubs for so long now you understand when he wants to come around to your house it's not for a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.

"I spent all day going through certain scenarios. 'Gee who do I know from other clubs if that happens to be the case'. So I'd played it over in my head for a good five or six hours."

Lewis conceded Clarkson had been a master at future-proofing the Hawks and his move was part of that planning.

"What he's been so good over the years is at is foreseeing what is coming in the future and I think that is maybe what he was seeing coming at the end of this year ... Once Mitch left I probably didn't feel as guilty if I was to leave as well. It wasn't as if I was opting out of a contract. I never went to the club. They came to me so that's how I sort of justified it to myself ...they gave me the option and then I started to explore."

On life at the Demons, Lewis said he was looking forward to watching the team develop.

"They are a playing group who are fresh," he said. "It's a young playing group but I think they realise they are on the verge of playing some really good football. We are coached in a really good way. So it's about blending that talent and the team performance ... but there are certainly some young kids there who show great talent.

"I'm trying to make comparisons to the Hawthorn side ... I'm sort of thinking 2006, 2007 is probably where the list is at. These guys like Petracca and Hogan have had three years in the system, this is their third year, and once we get games in them that's when we'll see the rewards.

Lewis has already brought one training drill from Hawthorn to the Demons, which was promptly named after him, but says the most important thing he's been able to contribute so far is the talk on the track.

"I suppose the biggest different that I've noticed from training is the voice and direction ... probably what I've noticed at Melbourne is they were probably lacking that a little bit. Guys have got great knowledge but they are sometimes just afraid to speak up or they just don't know how to do it. And that's probably been the progress over the pre-season is really just training these guys on how to speak out on the field.

The former Hawk says he's keen to use his premiership-winning experience to drive the Demon youngsters - even if that means ruffling some feathers.

"It's a hard juggling act. I thought I would go in there and sort of tip toe my way around but that lasted probably a week. But then it was I'm here, I'm invested I need to start driving these kids and they need to start driving me and there was no point sitting back. So if I rub boys up the wrong way then I'll always follow it up, but we are in a performance game and you have got to be hard on people every now and then."

On the recent exclusion of Jack Watts from the senior side, Lewis said coach Simon Goodwin had made the right decision.

"Yeah I thought we handled it really well," he said. "Goody was very straight in the way that we approach pre-season. If you traing with intensity then you'll get games.

"You saw Jack on the weekend. When he's in our 22 we're a better side."