Coming off the back of a stellar debut season, 2015’s No.1 draft pick Jacob Weitering is confident he won’t be struck down by the ‘second-year blues’.

Weitering claims a steady mindset is the key to overcoming the lull that is common among players entering their second AFL season.  

“I don’t buy too much into it (second-year blues). I don’t read the newspapers in the morning. I focus on football and what I can control in my circle of influence," Weitering said.

“It’s a week-by-week process. You look at who you’re playing next and preview accordingly, then review afterwards.

“So for me it’s just keeping the body fit, the mind in a good place and playing some good football."


Jacob Weitering has barely missed a beat in his first full pre-season. (Photo: AFL Media)

After lacing up the boots 20 times in his first year, the 19-year-old lived up to mounted expectations, being named the Blues' best first-year player. 

Despite being sidelined by injury for two games in 2016, Weitering finished the season ranked third at the Club for contested marks and fourth for one-percenters. 

With his first full pre-season under his belt, Weitering said he was well placed to take his game to the next level.

“As a first-year player you were managed a little bit. So now I’ve got on the track a fair bit, no injuries which has been great and I’ve got some consistency on the field.”

Weitering will take to the field on Saturday when the Blues face off against Melbourne in their first JLT Community Series match.

The Demons enter the contest on the back of a six-point victory over reigning premier Western Bulldogs in their first pre-season hit-out.

“Obviously coming up against Melbourne will be a good test for us to put a few things we have been working on over pre-season into practice," Weitering said.

“It’s been a pretty long pre-season, so I think most of the boys are pretty excited to get into it on Saturday.”

JLT Series: All you need to know