Nine rookies will represent the Dolphins at the coming FINA world short-course swimming championships but coach Rohan Taylor is confident they'll shine, rather than crumble in the spotlight.
More than 1000 competitors from over 180 countries will descend on the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre for the December 13-18 competition.
The 36-strong Australian team includes Olympic gold medallists Emma McKeon, Kaylee McKeown, Mack Horton, Kyle Chalmers, Madi Wilson, Meg Harris, Chelsea Hodges and Mollie O'Callaghan.
Other names shape as a potential pointer towards the Paris Olympics of 2024.
Brittany Castelluzzo, Shaun Champion, Alexander Grant, Kayla Hardy, Ty Hartwell, Emilie Muir, Jamie Perkins, Mikayla Smith and Stuart Swinburn are the debutants.
"I think they'd be nervous. The senior guys in the team are really good, they're looking after them, they've done some things with them," Taylor said.
"But being nervous is a good thing. It's important for performance - you have to be nervous.
"So I think they just need to embrace it. It's more about embracing it, not trying to push it away."
Taylor said the Dolphins were expected to maintain or improve on current times and rankings.
"For me, it's converting from the entries, so being consistent. If they can hold themselves to times they've come in on or even really improve," Taylor said.
"Because then what happens is if they're ranked fifth and they improve, the chances are they're going to go up the rankings which means they get on podiums; if they're ranked first and they hold themselves, they're first.
"So to me it's about seeing that and the ones that are a little bit outside. It's the learning experience of jumping from the 20th rank in the event to 10th.
"So it's about just that improvement and our goal is just to have as many high-ranked athletes (as possible) going into meets and when we do that, we get the conversions, we get the medals. The formula's pretty straightforward."
Less than five months after the Commonwealth Games, Taylor was confident his charges hadn't been overloaded heading into the Melbourne meet.
"There's a balance between what's too much racing and what's enough," he said.
"But for us it was a real challenge through that nine weeks in Europe. We had some COVID issues, but the skills they learned and the value they got out of it - then we had a Duel in the Pool, then we had the trials, and now we're here.
"It's been a big year but just seeing them come together and seeing them fresh and excited to race, tells me that we're building some good resilience in our team."
