Star midfielder Seb Ross might have won his first best and fairest last year, but the fact he hasn’t played in a single final yet is driving him in 2018.
The 24-year-old continued his upward climb last year, following up a breakout 2016 with a brilliant 2017 that saw him win the Trevor Barker Award and earn selection in the All-Australian squad.
But with none of his first 81 games played in the month that matters most, Ross is craving September exposure.
“It was all well and good to win that (best and fairest), but I’ve been at the club for seven years now and I haven’t been there at the pointy end of the season yet,” Ross said at a press conference in Sandringham on Tuesday.
“So that’s my main aim and whatever I can do to help the team reach that is what I’ll do.
“I think I’ve still got plenty of room to grow and I think my growth will probably come from all the younger boys growing under me and they will push others to improve.”
Some of the young talent shoving the group along this summer includes emerging stars Jade Gresham and Jack Billings, who both shone brightly last year, along with versatile midfielder Blake Acres and recent top-10 picks Hunter Clark and Nick Coffield.
“It’s a pretty exciting time at the moment with guys like Gresham and Billings and Acres having really strong
“Guys like Hunter Clark and Nick Coffield have been training really well; I’m not sure how the coaches see them, but I’m sure they’ll play a bit of footy throughout the year
With Christmas quickly fading into the distance, preparations for the home and away season are accelerating by the day.
Ross said the group has reported back to training in impressive condition.
“The boys looked after themselves over the Christmas period and have come back in good shape,” he said.
“We were able to get a really good block in pre-Christmas, the younger boys got a good seven-week block in and us older boys got five weeks in there.”
