Hawthorn wingman Tom Scully has taken a leave of absence from the club for personal reasons.
The Hawks confirmed earlier in the week that Scully would be stepping away from the club and asked for the public to respect his privacy during this time.
It was later reported that the 29-year-old is currently weighing up retirement.
Whatever the circumstances may be, new Hawthorn vice-captain Jaeger O’Meara said their only priority is supporting Scully through these tough times.
“For us it’s all about Tom’s wellbeing and we’re just here to support him,” O’Meara told SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“He’s going through some stuff that he needs to step away from football for a little bit and think about things.
“We’re just here to support and our main concern is Tom’s wellbeing.”
Scully isn’t the only Hawk currently away from the club, with Jon Patton being stood down by the club after he was accused of sending lewd messages to women without consent.
O’Meara emphasised that supporting players young and old and building connection within the club is something very important to them.
“We’ve been working probably harder than we have in previous pre-seasons and the trust and admiration you get for each other throughout the week and each training session just grows and grows,” he said.
“Our demographic is a younger list now and we’ve got some guys coming through that need some nurturing and education and support and I think it’s just that and the stuff you do away from the footy field, catching up with the blokes for a round of golf and trying to establish those relationships away from footy as well.”
The star midfielder added that his leadership style will not change now that he has the vice-captaincy.
“The guys in the leadership group have been selected because most of the guys have been doing that anyway, so it’s not just going to start all of a sudden because I’m vice-captain,” he said.
“We’ll continue to do that and continue to support our younger guys and bring them along for the ride.”
Ruckman Ben McEvoy was appointed captain of the Hawks on Friday, replacing the retired Ben Stratton.