A trimmer, more confident Wonaeamirri feels he is well placed to build on his burgeoning AFL career in 2009.
The 20-year-old was playfully warned to stay off the fatty turtle that abounds in the waters around his native Melville Island by coach Dean Bailey last year, but Wonaeamirri says his trim new figure has more to do with hard work and a full pre-season than a non-turtle diet.
"I reckon this year's pre-season has been a lot better for me because last year … I didn't really have the fitness to train at the required level”, Wonaeamirri says of his late arrival at the club via the NAB AFL Rookie Draft.
"I didn't get a full pre-season I just did the last six weeks … I got a bit of a shock when I got a game early in the year, but I was able to get a bit fitter as the season went on.
"This pre-season I've dropped a bit of weight which has helped me train harder. Last year I was playing at 77 or 78 kg I think, but I'm at 74 kg now.”
Wonaeamirri credits his svelte physique on post-season chats with teammates Aaron Davey and Matthew Whelan, and assistant coach Josh Mahoney, who counseled him to ramp up his work in preparation for 2009.
The result, says Wonaeamirri, bodes well for the coming season.
"I'm lighter, but I feel like I'm stronger as well because of the work we've been doing in the gym."
Having broken through for 18 games in his first season, Wonaeamirri proved to be one of the steals of the rookie draft with his exciting play one of the bright spots in an otherwise dreary year for the Dees.
Wonaeamirri’s wild goal celebrations in the breakthrough win against Fremantle provided one of the enduring images of the 2008 season, with his unbridled glee at playing the game he loves there for all to see in newspapers around the country the next day.
"I really don't know why I did that. The boys were into me straight after the game and for the whole week on the track. Some of them still do it even now," he says.
"I didn't realise that I had done all that and I get a bit embarrassed when they do it. We'll see what happens next year though. I might do it again.”
The goal sneak says he was shocked by the coverage his celebratory antics attracted, particularly back home in the Territory.
"I had family calling me and telling me I was on the back page of the NT newspaper in Darwin,” he says. “When I went back up to Darwin to visit a few mates they were all doing the celebration which was pretty funny.
"I definitely count that as the highlight of my 2008. It was probably one of the best games I've played anywhere. I'll never forget that game, it will be in my memory forever."
Wonaeamirri's four-goal performance was one of the keys to the Demons' victory that day and he is also proud to have played an important part in his side's next win seven rounds later against the Brisbane Lions.
It was made all the more special by the presence of his dad who had flown in from Melville Island to watch his son play AFL football for the first time at the MCG.
"It was the first AFL game dad had seen me play. He came down on the Friday and we had lunch and he said that he was really pumped and looking forward to seeing me play … He was really over the moon for me.
"It was special because dad was always there for me. My mum passed away when I was 12, but dad always looked after me."
Wonaeamirri describes 2008 as a huge learning curve, but one that has given him the confidence to attack his second year at the elite level head-on. And while the physical changes are immediately apparent, perhaps the most striking change to come over the once painfully shy young man is the poise with which he now carries himself.
"I do feel like I've come out of my shell a bit this year," he admits.
"This time last year I didn't really say a word and I found it really hard to have a conversation with the senior blokes.
"I'm starting to talk up a bit more at training now."
But while he may be more confident, Wonaeamirri isn't about to get ahead of himself. He laughs at the suggestion that his refreshing approach to playing AFL football has helped make him a celebrity in his home state.
"Nah, mate. I think that's Cyril Rioli still," he says.
"I sometimes wake up in the morning and still can't believe that I've joined the ranks of the AFL. Every time I go home all my mates say how they can't believe I made it.
"It's nice to hear people say they're jumping on board Melbourne when I go back up there. It's like a dream come true."
