Tim Membrey’s astronomical rise this season is testament to the body of work the key forward put in over the pre-season, says St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson.

The 22-year-old spearhead has emerged as one of the most improved forwards in the competition this season, with his five goal haul against Carlton taking him to 39.18 from 14 games. His average of 2.8 goals per game is ranked No. 5 in the AFL.

After switching to St Kilda from Sydney at the end of 2014, Membrey has blossomed in his second season at Linen House Centre, establishing himself as a critical component in the Saints forward setup.

Following a shoulder reconstruction in early September, Membrey was confined to a mountain of running away from the main group over the summer as he recovered from surgery.

The results of an increased aerobic capacity have been profound in 2016, prompting Richardson to use Membrey as an example of someone reaping reward for effort.

“He’s a great example to our group: if you work hard you end up with positive results,” Richardson told reporters after St Kilda’s 71-point win over Carlton at the MCG on Sunday.

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“He had a really strong pre-season. He had a shoulder reconstruction so he wasn’t able to join in all the normal footy training he was just off to the side working his backside off, up and back doing a lot of running.

“Our want was to get him through the midfield a bit, so that probably helped motivate and stimulate him to run a bit more but it’s clearly helped his forward line play.

“So not only is a he a pretty good mark, he’s a very hard match-up from that point of view, he’s able to get up and back, he was involved in a lot of our defence he’s certainly able to reset aggressively as a forward and give us something to kick to.

“He’s certainly heading the right way but it’s on the back of working really hard and that’s a great message for our team.”

Since working his way back into the senior side in Round 6, Membrey has played every game, booting four bags of five goals, as well as three sets of three and a haul of four.

Prior to this season, the Gippsland Power product has never kicked more than two goals in a game, underlining the significant spike in his output this season.

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