Thoughts about his troublesome right knee are no longer in the back of Jaeger O’Meara’s mind, with the Hawthorn midfielder aiming to play every game in a season for the first time in five years.

With Tom Mitchell expected to miss the season with a broken leg, and recruits Tom Scully (ankle) and Chad Wingard (calf) facing delayed starts to their respective campaigns, O’Meara’s fitness looms as a crucial factor for the Hawks as they bid to make the top four for the eighth time in nine years.

Jaeger O'Meara. Credit:Eddie Jim

O’Meara, 25, didn’t miss a game across his first two AFL seasons at Gold Coast, but was then curtailed by injuries to his right knee, limiting him to just six games between 2015 and 2017, which was his first season at Hawthorn.

But the West Australian put those issues behind him last year, playing 21 games to finish fifth in Hawthorn’s best and fairest, only to miss the Hawks' semi-final loss to Melbourne because of a knee problem.