Hawthorn skipper Jarryd Roughead has hit back at claims his teammates have lost the hunger for success after the Hawks slumped to a 0-4 start to the season.
Alastair Clarkson's side suffered a second 86-point loss in succession on Easter Monday when Geelong romped home at the MCG.
The loss left Hawthorn, three-time premiership winners in the past four years, anchored to the bottom of the AFL ladder with a percentage of just 56.
"I still think the hunger is there," Roughead told Fox Footy's On The Couch.
"We got three or four blokes in from other clubs who want to be successful. It's not just a matter of thinking 'Oh well, we've done that and we'll just let these guys take over'.
"These guys have come to the footy club because they want to be part of a successful club and I want that to still happen.
"Hopefully I'm still three or four years away from finishing and I don't want to keep going like this."
The Hawks controversially traded out respected veterans Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis at the end of last season, while bringing in Tom Mithcell, Jaeger O'Meara, Ricky Henderson and Ty Vickery.
Roughead conceded the departures of Mitchell and Lewis would continue to be a talking point while the team struggled, but denied the moves were at the heart of the problem.
The skipper disagreed that the club was in the early stages of an extensive list rebuild.
"I think we've got the group that can do this," he said.
"We've got eight or nine All Australians on our list, so it's not as if we're a poor list that's going through a big change.
"It's just a matter of investing back into the footy club because it's a pretty good football club to be at.
"We're not that far away ... errors are costing us and it shows within games.
"It's a matter of sticking fat and working hard on the training track."
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