Games may not be won in summer, but it is over the pre-season period where some of the biggest wins can be carved from.

Amid a breakout season, emerging St Kilda spearhead Tim Membrey attributes his stunning rise this year to a full pre-season of running under his belt.

After undergoing a shoulder reconstruction last September, the 22-year-old was restricted to non-contact drills and a mountain of running for the bulk of the pre-season.

With an elevated aerobic base, Membrey has entrenched himself inside St Kilda’s forward 50 this season, kicking 28.12 from ten games after forcing his way back into the team in Round 6.

“I think it’s come off the back of having a full pre-season with my running,” Membrey told reporters at a press conference on Monday after kicking 5.0 in a dominant performance against Essendon on Sunday.

“I wasn’t involved in the contact stuff early with the shoulder injury, but just to be able to hit the ground and not miss a session with my running. I think it’s just held me in good stead for the year.”

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While the Saints’ 11-point win over Essendon was unconvincing, Membrey believes his side’s ability to find a way to grind out a result was a major positive, on a night where St Kilda eclipsed their 2015 win-loss tally by recording their seventh win of the season.

“It’s good to come out on top. We clearly didn’t play our best footy, but it’s good to be able to sometimes grind them out,” Membrey said.

“(There was) plenty of momentum swings, so to be able to stick to the structures and come out on top was a good result.

“I think in the future we’re probably going to be involved in a few more games like that where the momentums going to swing either way. To come out on top and have our structures in place (was a positive).”

Membrey’s third bag of five goals this season has the former Sydney Swans forward ranked No. 6 in the AFL for average goals at 2.8 goals per game. On top of those three hauls, Membrey also has three sets of three goals to his name in 2016.

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