Jaeger O'Meara admits he's nervous ahead of his second season, and is heaping pressure on himself to match his stellar rookie campaign.
The Gold Coast midfielder was the runaway winner of last year's NAB Rising Star Award, playing all 22 games and living up to pre-season hype that compared him to a young Chris Judd.
But the 19-year-old said he was very wary of the 'second-year blues' and was "hell-bent" on not falling victim to it.
Noticeably stronger in his shoulders and arms, O'Meara said he hadn't spoken to the coaching staff about his second season, but has thought about it plenty himself.
"Mentally I'm still a bit nervous about my second year," O'Meara said.
"I was really nervous about my first year but I'm probably even a bit more nervous this year because people talk about second-year blues. I'm hell-bent on improving on my first year and improving as a team.
"It's something I can't get too worried about or worry about what everyone else is saying.
"I'm always going to put pressure on myself and the team, that's the only way I'm going to improve.
"If I didn't do that, I'd be silly, and I'm obviously going to put pressure on myself."
The West Australian averaged 22 disposals and five tackles per match and kicked 16 goals in his first season.
O'Meara's exciting teammate Jack Martin is set to face similar scrutiny as he prepares for his rookie year.
Like O'Meara, Martin came to the GC SUNS via the 17-year-old GWS mini-draft and played a season with Gold Coast's NEAFL team.
O'Meara joked the wiry Martin was the better of the two, but said he was excited about the prospect of lining up alongside him.
"Jack's really exciting. He's going to be a great player for us. He's level headed and won't worry about what everyone else is saying," he said.
"I've spoken to him a little bit about it. The only thing he can worry about is what he can control.
"I reckon he is better than me. Jack's got some really exciting attributes. He can tackle really hard, he's good with both feet and we're really excited about him.
"I'm excited to have him on my team and I'm glad he's not on the opposition team."
