Jaeger O'Meara isn't feeling the pressure to rise to the occasion in Hawthorn teammate Tom Mitchell's absence, insisting it will take a "collective effort" to fill the Brownlow medallist's void.

O'Meara sat out the last quarter as planned in the Hawks' intraclub match on Wednesday night, but was his usual classy self in the minutes he did play, including a brilliant second quarter goal.

The hit-out provided a perfect opportunity for young midfielders James Worpel, James Cousins and Harry Jones to push their case – and they did – but it was a state league midfielder who stole the show.

Read: Hawks-Blues in practice match

Worpel, who won plenty of possessions, was a force in the centre and kicked a great goal at one stage after escaping from a pack of players, and Jones also caught O'Meara's eye.

"'Worps' was very impressive," O'Meara said.

"He got a lot of the footy and I think he got a fair few centre clearances – he's a little bull in there – so I'm very excited about him and Harry Jones.

"They've been training extremely well over the pre-season and I think Worps will get a fair bit of confidence out of the footy he played last year."

Cousins collected his share of the Sherrin, too, and his expert finish on the run early in the second term was noteworthy.