The 19-year-old showed great promise in the second half of the 2014 season, pushing for senior selection late in the year.
Named as an emergency for St Kilda’s final two matches, Pierce said being on the cusp of a debut has given him great belief that with a strong summer on the track, a debut early next season isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.
“It’s given me a lot of confidence to see that I’m in the coaches’ thoughts and a debut is what I’m working towards,” Pierce told SAINTS.com.au.
“I will just try to put in a good pre-season, build my body up and become a better player by the time next winter comes around.”
The young ruckman is aware that tall players often take longer to develop, but refuses to place limitations on his progress in amongst the raft of up-and-coming Saints of a similar age bracket.
“With so many young guys coming through, we are all supporting each other and helping each other get better,” he said.
“We’re not interested in slow progress. We’re committed to rapid improvement and pushing each other to the limit.”
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And Pierce isn’t deterred by competition, citing the healthy rivalry that exists between he and Tom Hickey, Billy Longer and Jason Holmes as a key component in learning and developing his unique craft.“The competition for ruck spots breeds improvement. Every training we are getting stuck into each other and pushing each other to improve,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to the draft period and seeing who we can get in to take this club forward.”
An increased physical presence remains Pierce’s greatest challenge after he arrived at the club via pick 75 in the 2012 National Draft as a talented, skinny and raw ruckman fresh out of Haileybury College.
While Pierce’s first half of 2014 was ruined by stress fractures in his back, Head of Football Chris Pelchen looks forward to watching the former Dandenong Stingray develop with a full pre-season under his belt.
“Lewis made real progress in the back end of the year - almost leading to his AFL debut in August,” Pelchen told SAINTS.com.au.
“He’s competitive, works hard and we look forward to watching him improve further as we approach 2015.”
Pierce stands at 202cm and is the tallest player on St Kilda's senior list. He's the third player to re-sign with the club during Saints Future Fest, following Luke Dunstan and Josh Saunders earlier this week.
Stay tuned to SAINTS.com.au throughout September as we unveil the next generation of St Kilda stars!
