DESPITE kicking six goals in the past two weeks, key forward Tom Lee insists there’s plenty of room for improvement left in his game. The 22-year-old has played four games in his first season at St Kilda and has shown he has the talent required to be of value at AFL level. While his goal sense has been evident recently, Lee believes working on the less glamorous components of his game will bring improvement.
“I’ve got a very, very long way to go in terms of my fitness, and I think defensively I can get a lot better, but it’s a step in the right direction for me, and that’s what I’m seeing it as for now,” Lee says.
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The 194cm forward is one of a number of young Saints who will benefit from more time in the AFL system, and a subsequently stronger fitness base. St Kilda was within reach of victory for more than three quarters against Carlton last weekend, but faded late in the game.
“The boys had a good crack for as long as we could, basically, and even when things weren’t going our way we had a dip,” says Lee.
“I still need to round out four quarters, as does the rest of the group.”
Even after Lee’s round 15 breakout game against Fremantle, Scott Watters acknowledged he would improve with “two, three or four weeks of match conditioning,” saying, “he probably went for two and a half quarters today in all reality. But hopefully he can build on that and with another pre-season he can be a good player."
Lee knows fitness and match conditioning will come with time and exposure to senior football, so from week to week, his main goal is to make sure his effort doesn’t waiver.
“The fact is we play well when we give maximal effort, and if you can tick that box, which is purely an attitude, the structures and the ball use and all that will take care of itself,” Lee says.
“As long as we’re giving effort, we know we’re giving ourselves the best possible chance of winning games.
“We need to take that next step to get actual winning results, but the effort’s a good start.”
Lee can’t help but admire the relentless efforts of Nick Riewoldt, who lined up alongside him on Saturday night, after being rested the previous week against Fremantle. Lee says the forward line is vastly different without Riewoldt’s presence.
“We lacked a bit of leadership last week against Fremantle, I think that’s where we fell away in the fourth quarter,” Lee explains.
“Rooey keeps us together. He’s not only the captain of our club, he’s the spiritual leader, and every action he does goes a long way to us being better and it’s great to have him out there.”
Lee might one day take over the mantle as St Kilda’s number one forward, but he’s not getting ahead of himself. His goals for the rest of the year are modest, but important.
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He hopes to hold his spot, and continue to put the team first.
“As long as I play my role, don’t get ahead of myself and don’t measure my game on goals and disposals and stuff like that, hopefully I can have an impact on the side.”
