WESTERN Bulldogs forward Mitch Hannan believes the beaten Grand Finalists have scope for improvement and has highlighted Tim English's growing physicality as one key reason for optimism this year.
Just days out from the 2022 season-opener against Melbourne, Hannan concedes pain lingers from the Bulldogs' thrashing at the hands of the Demons in last year's Optus Stadium decider.
But the versatile 28-year-old sees plenty of upside in the Dogs' playing group as they plot another premiership push under Luke Beveridge.
"There's always natural improvement with a young list, which is what we have, in regards to that extra body of fitness from a pre-season and the maturity levels that come from knowing what a finals campaign takes," Hannan said.
"So there's already going to be some natural improvement from experiencing what we went through last year, but there's also some stuff on-field as well.
"We pride ourselves on being a team that moves the ball quite well by hand and by foot, and there were times during the Grand Final where we let ourselves down.
"So there's always room for improvement to move the ball better and convert."
Hannan expects the Bulldogs to benefit from a beefed-up English -- the former first-round draft pick -- who enters his sixth season in the AFL system more ready than ever to realise his potential.
English will again work with Stefan Martin in a ruck-forward partnership, with the pair important pieces in the Dogs' plans to cover the absence of injured spearhead Josh Bruce.
"Everyone knows that a ruckman coming in at 18 is always going to take that bit of time to develop and the weight that they put on can take varying amounts of time," Hannan said.
"(English) is definitely getting more and more physical - and more and more solid - and he's becoming that sort of player that a team needs from a ruckman and key position player.
"I think you'll see a fair bit of growth from Tim this year as well."
Hannan played 50 games in four seasons with Melbourne and retains some close friendships with former teammates, admitting he was happy to see them achieve the ultimate success last year.
But the Grand Final defeat to his old side in his first year at the Bulldogs left him nursing more than a sore shoulder after post-season clean-up surgery.
"It definitely hurts and you mull on it, especially when you're sitting back after some shoulder surgery on the couch thinking about what could have been," Hannan said.
"But at the end of the day, Melbourne were really good on that day and they, obviously, were ultimately premiers.
"I'm still fortunate enough to be at an age where we can go again this year and have another good crack at it."
