One of these up-and-comers is Seb Ross, a hard-nosed midfielder with 14 AFL games under his belt after debuting late in 2012.
While the left-footer has impressed at every opportunity in the VFL this year, he’s still awaiting a senior opportunity after being named an emergency in round one.
“I was pretty close to getting a game against Melbourne,” Ross told SAINTS.com.au this week.
“A few other boys got an opportunity and went well which is pretty good. I think that just opens up the competition for spots which is always helpful at footy clubs.”
And Ross, who was selected with pick 25 in the 2011 AFL National Draft, isn’t disheartened by the lack of senior opportunity thus far, rather it pushes him harder and serves to motivate him further.
“I know down at VFL level all the boys recognise that there are a few younger boys in the AFL team at the moment, which is great for them to get a taste of AFL footy. We know that we have to bust our guts for Sandringham because those boys are up there doing well at the moment.”
RELATED: VFL player breakdown
Alan Richardson and his coaching staff have delivered clear and concise feedback to Ross and as a result the midfielder understands what is required to propel him back into the senior side.“Richo just wants me to become more aggressive. He knows I can get the ball and all that sort of stuff,” Ross said.
Assistant coach Paul Hudson agrees, telling SAINTS.com.au on Tuesday that Ross is prolific, but could take a few more risks once he has the ball in his hands.
“I’ve been pushing for him to try to be more attacking with his kicks rather than conservatively just hitting the obvious target,” Hudson said.
“His strength in and around the ball was good and won a lot of one-on-one contests, he just needs to keep working on his spread.”
This clear messaging has helped the 21-year-old in recent weeks, to the point where he collected 33 disposals and registered 10 marks in a dominant display for Sandringham against Werribee on the weekend.
RELATED: VFL match report
Though Ross was satisfied with his own performance, he lamented a third-term lapse from the midfield group which he said probably cost the Zebras the game.“As a midfield group we won the clearances for the game but the onus was on us in the third quarter and we got smashed in the clearances then,” he said.
“We went down by 11 points in the end and it was a little bit disappointing but it was probably just due to the one quarter of footy which was the third term.”
For now Ross will continue to push for a senior call-up, confident that a spot will open up eventually if his form for Sandy remains as good as it has been in recent weeks.
