IN FORM Hawthorn small forward Paul Puopolo is setting himself for a big finals series, after admitting he was "overwhelmed" by the occasion last year.
Puopolo has enjoyed a consistent season for the top-of-the-ladder Hawks, his relentless pressure and high-energy play earning him the tag of 'Energiser Bunny' from his coach Alastair Clarkson.
The 25-year-old has applied 114 pressure acts inside forward 50 this season - ranked third in the AFL - and his tackles per game average stands at an excellent 4.1.
But he won't be satisfied until he brings his best to the September stage.
"I think I was overwhelmed by the finals last year," Puopolo told AFL.com.au this week.
"There was a lot of hype and a lot of pressure, and I sort of let it get to me.
"I was a little bit disappointed.
"I'll be giving it my all to try and make amends this year."
Although he still tackled with trademark ferocity - laying seven tackles in both the qualifying final and Grand Final - Puopolo had only 21 disposals across the Hawks' three 2012 finals, and booted one goal.
But he was not without his reasons for being a bit down.
The South Australian had endured a difficult and stressful year as his mum Gina underwent two operations on a brain tumour.
Thrown in was the far less serious (but still disastrous from a football perspective) problem of a NAB Cup hamstring injury, undoing the fitness gains made over the 2011-12 summer.
"I had a difficult last year with my mum getting sick, and then I had the hamstring injury, so I kept getting setbacks," Puopolo said.
"I had a bit of stress going on.
"And then I finally thought mum was going all right, and she had to go in for another operation.
"So my year was really up and down.
"One minute you'd feel like everything was OK, and then bang.
"And it was hard, because she was in Adelaide, so I couldn't be there to support her and the rest of my family."
With Gina now in good health and having moved to Melbourne to be closer to Puopolo and his sister, the 173cm dynamo is feeling more at ease in his adopted city.
On the football field, he has enjoyed rotating through the midfield, which has helped him get more involved in the play when things are quiet up forward.
But his bread and butter still lies in the defensive pressure he brings to a forward line stacked with the goalkicking firepower of Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead, Cyril Rioli, Jack Gunston and Luke Breust.
"My main role in the forward line is to put that pressure on; I'm not there to kick heaps of goals," Puopolo said.
"The things I do, I do 100 per cent.
"When it comes to chasing someone, I'll go flat out - it's not like a half-hearted chase.
"So I guess that's the energy I bring.
"If everyone sees me buzzing around the field, hopefully I can lift other people to do the same thing."
Most pressure acts inside forward 50, 2013
1. Chris Mayne (Fremantle) 132
2. Dayne Zorko (Brisbane Lions) 123
3. Paul Puopolo (Hawthorn) 114
4. Jack Riewoldt (Richmond) 107
5. Jamie Elliott (Collingwood) 105
