PADDY Dow is hoping to avoid the “second-year blues” in 2019.

After a debut campaign which included 20 games and a Rising Star nomination, Dow is readying himself for another year in the Navy Blue.

And with the season opener to come next Thursday, Dow believes he’s done everything in his power to form a solid foundation for the year.

“For me personally, this year has gone a lot smoother,” Dow said.

“I was learning a lot of things in my first year and going into the second season, I’m confident with everything and know how everything works.

“You can really excel with your development… I feel like I’ve done everything I can to prepare myself for this year.”

Dow featured across both JLT Community Series games for the Blues over the last three weeks, averaging over 16 disposals against Essendon and Collingwood.

He said the team could take some confidence from the form shown over the pre-season matches.

“As a team, there were a lot of good signs… I was probably more happy with my first game, the second game I took a bit longer to get into,” he said.

"With a lot of improvement in a lot of younger players, the growing leadership and identifying where we need to get better, it’s improved a lot.”

Having spoken about the exciting signs shown by David Cuningham, Will Setterfield and Sam Walsh, Dow said there was also off-field reason for the Blues to take heart.

Dow said the record membership announced by the Club on Wednesday had given the whole playing group a boost.

“That also gives us confidence, knowing that our fans support what we’re doing and have faith in our whole team, club, the people upstairs and the coaching,” he said.

“It’s an awesome achievement.”