Josh Ward could be forgiven for feeling the pinch when Hawthorn strongly pursued Zach Merrett last offseason.

Because even after a standout season last year — where he played 25 senior games as the Hawks made a preliminary final — the club still thought it needed more in the guts.

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The notion was relatively obvious: Hawthorn thought it was one midfielder short of a genuine premiership charge.

Adding the dynamic left-footed Merrett to a core engine room group already boasting Will Day and Jai Newcombe would have elevated the Hawks into premiership favouritism.

Instead, Newcombe leads from the front with Day sidelined, as Ward and the likes of Cam Mackenzie and Connor Macdonald have been counted on to step up their responsibilities between the arcs.

But Ward, who says he’s “internally driven” — and exhibits shades of Merrett in his own right — didn’t gain any added personal motivation from the club’s desperate chase of the five-time Crichton medallist.

“I mean, I’ve got a lot of drive in myself — regardless of what else is happening — to become a good player,” Ward told Foxfooty.com.au post-match last Thursday.

“I really feel like I owe it to the club for their faith in me to become as good a player as I can be.

“So, regardless of what the outside noise is … like, I would have loved him (Merrett) to come to our club, because it would have helped us win.

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“But, yeah, I want to be the best player I can be, regardless of what’s happening (externally).”

No extra kick at all? “No. I’m internally driven — that’s what I try to be.”

The 22-year-old was one of Hawthorn’s standouts in last Thursday’s comeback win over Sydney, collecting 27 disposals and registering eight score involvements in the 17-point triumph.

Yet he’s cognisant of the constant need to improve, pointing to his disposal as an improvement area despite the increasing positives in his game.

“I mean, a bit similar to us as a club,” Ward said of his start to the year. “Very poor first game, wasn’t myself, and I’ve been working really hard to bring the intensity in my game.

“I feel like the first two games had some positives, but I had so many clangers (last Thursday) as well, I feel like I’ve got a lot of room to get better with my ball use and structure around stoppage.

“A long way to go for me as well, but I’ll take some positives out of tonight (last Thursday).”

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Figuring out what drives his performance remains a key growth point for Ward, who’s a harsh judge of himself in a sign of his lofty standards.

“I think just understanding what gets me playing well, which is my intensity around the ball and being able to react quickly to loose balls and having fast feet to put pressure on,” he said.

“That gets me going, and I learnt a good lesson in GWS — when that wasn’t on, my whole game wasn’t good enough. So, that’s been a big focus early on.”

The Hawks had answers for everything the Swans threw at them last Thursday, overcoming a four-goal Sydney run-on that almost broke the game wide open in the third term.

“(The win was) Very satisfying. It’s been a growth area for us — being able to manage the mental and deal with times when the opposition gets a run on,” Ward said.

“I thought we were able to respond really well when they were up and about and on top of us.

“We were able to stay calm and stick to our process. We had some key players stand up.”

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Coach Sam Mitchell pre-game last Thursday wanted to see what “the real Hawthorn” was, but while the Hawks gave a good account of themselves, Ward knows their mettle will be tested in the long run.

“I think we’ve got to keep answering it week in week out. You don’t suddenly become a good side from one game,” Ward said.

“We’ve been able to stack two good games together, but we’ve got a long way to go. So, we’ll find out the answer at the end of the season, really.”

On finding consistency on a weekly basis, Ward spoke of the challenges of finding “that fire” after a win, rather than a loss, citing Mitchell’s messaging.

“Sam spoke a lot during the week about how it’s easier to play well after a bad loss, like we had against GWS,” Ward said.

“After that, you spend the week just angry and wanting to make amends, but it’s harder when you play a good game to find that fire.

“So, I think being able to find it however you need to, to be able to get yourself up and get a bit of fire and rage about you before the game.

“Sam said that’s going to be a key for us to keep scoring well.”

Mitchell’s side now has an extended break leading into its traditional Easter Monday clash with Geelong on April 6.