You can’t help but be impressed with Sam Mayes.

For an 18-year-old who’s only been in the AFL system for around eight months, he’s certainly come a long way – and I’m not just saying that because he’s a fellow South Australian.

He obviously came to the Club with pretty big wraps on him given he was our first pick at last year’s Draft, but you still couldn’t have predicted the impact he’s had on the Club in only a short time.

When he first arrived at the Club, you can tell that he was pretty nervous – I think him throwing up before his first training session was a dead giveaway.

But you would probably expect that from most young blokes who are about to start their AFL career. Personally, I remember how daunting those first few days can be, and I was about to turn 22 when I was drafted.

Sam’s now played 11 senior games, and while most young blokes start slowing down at this stage of the season, his past two matches have arguably been his best.

He was really important in that QClash win over the Suns a couple of weeks ago and was close to our best again on Saturday against the Roos with three goals from the midfield.

From the start he’s shown that he can run all day and deliver a pin-point pass, but you can tell in recent weeks that he’s started to really pick-up the pace of the game.

I’m sure Browny’s face lights up every time Mayesy gets the ball, because more often than not, it’s going to end up on his chest.

He’s still going to have his quiet days – that’s part of the learning – but geez he looks like being a great player for this Club for a very long time.

I understand the nerves are still there, because he still throws up before every game.

But so too did Tony ‘Plugger’ Lockett apparently, so he’s in pretty good company there.

If anything, it’s a positive sign that he has big expectations of himself, and will be constantly striving to be the best player he possibly can.