In the days following the Hawks' round eight meeting with the Brisbane Lions, Frawley was diagnosed with "turf toe" which is a sprain to the connective tissue between the foot and the big toe.

Initially, the 2015 premiership player didn't think much of the injury, but it quickly became evident that something more sinister had occurred in his foot.

"When I did it I didn't think it was that bad, I thought I might miss a couple of weeks," Frawley told Fairfax Media.

"Then I got a scan and the docs brought me in and said it's worse than what you think and what we thought, so then I thought, 'sweet, maybe a month or two or whatever'.

"I probably could've played the last bit of last year but missing finals, there was no point really risking it and it's given me extra time to recover and luckily enough it's healed well.

"They can be pretty tricky injuries but I think the physio and the doctors and all the staff have done a great job ... I'm really enjoying being back with the group.

"They put a plan in place, I followed that and it's all come good so I'm pretty lucky."

With his injury woes hopefully behind him, Frawley was confident of recapturing his All-Australian form.

"I maybe even feel a bit more mentally fresh not playing for eight or nine months or whatever it was and the body's been pretty good," he said.

Frawley isn't the only senior player Hawthorn hope will see more regular game time than they did last season.

Frawley hopes to get back to full fitness in 2018. Photo: Pat Scala

Cyril Rioli, Grant Birchall, Ben Stratton, Frawley, Jaeger O'Meara and Jonathon Ceglar missed a combined 98 games between them in 2017.

Their additions to a developing side that finished the year with a wet sail, after losing five of their first six games by an average of 59 points, excited Frawley and gave him confidence that the team was well-placed to be a competitive force next season.

"I think last year was really good to see those young boys come in and get an opportunity and they played really well so I think it's really good for the group," he said.

"There's going to be a lot of competition for spots in the backline, Grant Birchall, 'Stratto' and myself are three guys fighting for a spot, so I guess it just makes everyone get better as a group and it's only a good thing having healthy competition inside the team.

"To come back and play with blokes like 'Burto' [Ryan Burton], [James] Sicily and [Blake] Hardwick ... it's just exciting for us older guys to come in and try and help these younger guys develop and fast-track as quickly as they can."

Frawley marvelled at coach Alastair Clarkson's ability to get the ship back on course by changing the game plan a third of the way through the 2017 season when things were looking grim.

"He's very good, he's one of the better ones at it," he said. "His footy brain is always thinking about it ... one of his best strengths is to chop and change the game plan when needed."

Frawley has recently returned home from an eight-day training camp in New Zealand and the 29-year-old loved it as he was not only treated to stunning scenery but it also gave him a chance to get to bond with his teammates.

Hawthorn players set off for their hike on Mount Peel in New Zealand. Photo: Michael Willson

"Training on the ovals looking back on the mountains with snow on top of them was breathtaking," he said.

"With those camps, the best thing about them is you get away as a group and you bond and you're always with the boys 24 hours a day pretty much, except when you're sleeping. You get to know everyone pretty intimately.

"I roomed with James Worpel, our first pick in the draft. I was surprised at how much the kid can eat, he cleaned the fridge out three nights in a row, he was just smashing everything in sight. For his age he's a big boy," he said with a smile.

Frawley nominated camping out in Peel Forest for two nights as the most gruelling aspect of the trip.

"We walked about 40 k's in the day, I had the iPhone health app and I think I did about 55,000 steps and about 800 floors or something so it was pretty hilly - up and down, up and down," he said.

"Then we did some rafting and some bike riding. It was good to get out there and cook your own meals in the camp. One night they gave us big pots and pans on the fire, I made us a spag bol out of pretty much nothing really. It didn't taste that good but the boys were hungry so they just hooked into it."

Your club's "new recruits" for 2018

**A selection of players restricted to 11 games or less in 2017 due to injury

Adelaide

Curtly Hampton

Brisbane Lions

Mitch Robinson

Allen Christensen

Carlton

Andrew Phillips

Ciaran Byrne

Alex Silvagni

Collingwood

Daniel Wells

Travis Varcoe

Tom Langdon

Essendon

Patrick Ambrose

Jayden Laverde

Fremantle

Aaron Sandilands

Harley Bennell

Hayden Ballantyne

Ed Langdon

Alex Pearce

Geelong

Nakia Cockatoo

Lincoln McCarthy

Cory Gregson

Gold Coast

Kade Kolodjashnij

Rory Thompson

Sam Day

GWS

Brett Deledio

Ryan Griffen

Stephen Coniglio

Adam Kennedy

Matt Buntine

Hawthorn

Cyril Rioli

Grant Birchall

Ben Stratton

Jaeger O'Meara

James Frawley

Jonathon Ceglar

Melbourne

Jesse Hogan

Angus Brayshaw

Aaron vandenBerg

North Melbourne

Mason Wood

Jarrad Waite

Ben Jacobs

Sam Wright

Richmond

Reece Conca

Ben Griffiths

St Kilda

David Armitage

Paddy McCartin

Hugh Goddard

Sydney

Harry Cunningham

Alex Johsnon

West Coast

Nic Naitanui

Scott Lycett

Western Bulldogs

Dale Morris

Tom Boyd

Marcus Adams

Josh Dunkley