JAEGER O'Meara appears to be making steady progress on the comeback trail from his chronic knee issues, with the boom Hawthorn recruit "looking very fit" and impressing in match simulation prior to the Christmas break.
O'Meara, who hasn't played AFL for two seasons, continued his bid to make it back to the elite level during the Hawks' gruelling 10-day training camp on the Sunshine Coast.
Although the former Gold Coast midfielder remains on modified duties following his long-running patella tendon issues, O'Meara is building towards a playing return early next year.
"He's been doing a lot of work and he started doing some matchplay with us at the end of the camp and looked really good, moved really smoothly and I'm pretty excited to see how he goes," second-year Hawks onballer Kieran Lovell told AFL.com.au.
"He's looking very fit and hopefully he can keep going well this pre-season and get into more of the training load."
Lovell roomed with O'Meara on the camp and the duo could form part of the Hawks' new-look engine room for the next decade, alongside the likes of another gun recruit Tom Mitchell and Jono O'Rourke.
Competition among the Hawks' next generation of midfielders has heated up this pre-season, with spots up for grabs following Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis' bombshell trades, plus Bradley Hill's departure to Fremantle.
Lovell, a stocky 174cm onballer drafted at pick No.22 in 2015, drew comparisons to Mitchell in two senior games last season and wants to eventually step into a similar role played by the midfield maestro.
"Obviously I'm not going to be exactly like Sam, but there's plenty of his attributes that I try and model my game off," he said.
"He definitely helped me out a lot, we'd always go through my game vision on a Monday or Tuesday to have a look at some areas or we'd watch his vision and he'd speak to me about why he did this or that.
"If I can be half the player he was for the club I'd be happy with that."
After trekking Kokoda in November with 11 first-to-fourth year teammates and completing the entire pre-season to date, Lovell has never been fitter and is working on his pace, agility and "quick feet" around stoppages.
The 19-year-old Tasmanian is targeting a strong JLT Community Series to stamp his claim for round one, but knows he'll face stiff competition amongst a squad still burning from last season's straight-sets finals exit.
"The disappointment of not having the (ultimate) success this year versus the last three years, I think a lot of the boys have had a really good off-season and came back in good nick," Lovell said.
"(The training camp) was very challenging physically and mentally, but I think all the boys trained really well. The intensity was really good.
"It's a bit of a new look and a new feel around the place at the moment."
Kieran Lovell drew comparisons with Sam Mitchell in his two games this year. Picture: AFL Photos
