By Michael Whiting

Karmichael Hunt's thirst for midfield knowledge has taken him to the Geelong engine room.

On the eve of his second season, Gold Coast SUNS Hunt has admitted to closely watching the play of Cats triple premiership midfielder James Kelly in his quest for improvement.

Hunt and GC SUNS coach Guy McKenna devised an off-season plan to switch the former rugby league international from defence to the midfield, starting on Saturday against Adelaide.

McKenna has previously described Hunt as one of the most driven athletes he has come across, and his desire to learn shows why.

"I'm more motivated to improve certain areas," Hunt said.

"Sometimes I'll miss a kick at training when I expect to hit it and that will bug me so I'll pull 'Harty' (reserves coach Shaun Hart) or a couple of the boys aside after training and practise those kicks again.

"I've been focusing on game pattern running, that's something I've got to get better at. I feel the more vision I watch and the more I watch other good players and how they run out games, the better I'm going to get."

And that's why Hunt went into the video room to study reigning All Australian Kelly, known for his ability to win the ball and spread from the contest.

"We watched a clip this morning on James Kelly in the Grand Final last year and his offensive spread and awareness to push to get to a position where he could get used was something I'll hopefully pick up," Hunt said.

Hunt played 16 games last year – primarily as a half-back flanker – and has stripped 5kg from his body to cope with the extra aerobic demands.

Hunt now tips the scales at 90kg and said he felt more relaxed approaching his second season.

"I don't feel any pressure. I think there was more pressure last year than anything, being my first year and things were magnified, every little thing, good or bad, was magnified," he said.

"This year I feel like I'm an AFL player going out to do the best I can for my team.

"I think having that whole year in the system has made me feel more comfortable with my role and my place and my team.

"The microscope is always going to be on me. I've never worried about that, I didn't worry about it last year and I'm not going to worry about it this year, I'm just going to go out there and look to improve each week and put my best foot forward for my team and that's all that matters."