Geelong speedster Max Holmes is predicting Bailey Smith will line up alongside him in the midfield next year as the club enters the pre-season.
With first-to-fourth-year players returning to the fold, Holmes was excited to get to work with his teammates, including the eight drafted in last week's National and Rookie intakes.
The 22-year-old has split his time in between the arcs during his 76-game career, but all signs are pointing to a more permanent slot in the midfield.
"I think I have the most influence in the midfield," Holmes said.
"But it's not really up to me at the end of the day, so I'll do what I'm told and then just keep doing it.
"Scotty (Chris Scott) is a mastermind in the coaching sphere, so I really enjoy the midfield, I really enjoy the backline, and I think preferably maybe midfield in the future. But look, I'll just play wherever it's necessary as a team."
Geelong's staggering ability to regenerate on the run has given coach Chris Scott the ability to rely less on ageing stars such as Patrick Dangerfield and Cam Guthrie.
Tanner Bruhn, Jack Bowes and Jhye Clark have all made headway in continuing the Cats' strength through the centre of the ground, while Smith has simply bolstered it even more.
The former Bulldog is known for his work ethic and silky skills, which Holmes has already been impressed with.
"I've done a couple of training sessions with Bailey, and he loves training, works the house down,โ Holmes said.
"He's a fantastic bloke, and I think he's going to be really good for us as a team. We do have a lot of older players, we've got a lot of younger players.
"We actually don't have that many around his kind of age, so I think it's good to just have that kind of diversity.
"He comes in as someone that a lot of boys will look up to, and he's really just going to set some standards around here.
"Obviously, he's a fantastic player, he's a top ten draft pick, we've seen some incredible footy from him, so I can't wait to start playing with him in the future."
Smith left the Western Bulldogs after being played out of position, as Luke Beveridge found roles for the former Pick 7 across the half-forward line.
The lure of a vacancy in Geelong's midfield helped the 23-year-old make his decision, but Holmes believes he can be of benefit to the club in any role.
"He's very versatile," he said.
"I obviously have no idea what the team looks like for round one next year, but he's obviously a guy that can run all day, and he's very skilful.
"Obviously, right now we see him playing in the midfield round one, but like, who knows, it might be on a wing, it might be half back."
Holmes is also ready to take the leap into a leadership position, flagging the likes of Joel Selwood and Tom Hawkins as perfect mentors from the past.
And with Dangerfield and Guthrie nearing the ends of their career, the former Pick 20 believes it's his time to step up.
"I'm at that stage where I'm due to step up," Holmes said.
"We've still got other guys who are role models for me and personally I'd like to influence some of the younger guys coming through and hopefully I can have the impact that Paddy and Joel had on me."
