St Kilda rebounding defender Jimmy Webster has taken his football to the next level this season and been rewarded with a new two-year contract extension that ties him to the club until the end of 2019.
Recruited from Glenorchy in Tasmania with pick No. 42 in the 2011 National Draft, not far behind emerging midfield stars Jack Newnes (No. 37) and Seb Ross (No. 25), Webster has overcome an injury interrupted 2016 to produce his strongest year to date in 2017.
With the ink still drying on his deal, Webster said St Kilda’s evolving back six and the influence of Assistant Coach Rohan Welsh and Senior Coach Alan Richardson were key factors behind his decision to commit to the Saints.
“It’s obviously good news that I’ve signed for another two years. It’s a pretty exciting time down at the Saints. We’re a young group coming through all as one,” Webster told saints.com.au after signing a contract extension on Tuesday.
“A few reasons why I re-signed is the back six is really bonding well with ‘Jakey’ Carlisle and Nathan Brown down there now.
“We’ve got a great coaching staff in ‘Woosha’ [Welsh] our backline coach and obviously ‘Richo’ is a great coach; he’s really honest and you know where you sit with him.”
After playing 11 of the first 13 games last season, Webster suffered repeated hamstring issues in the back end of the year, drawing the momentum he had built up to a halt and changing the way he prepares his body moving forward.
Webster believes there is no secret behind his improvement this year. He got the work into his body over the summer and the inclusion of key defenders, Jake Carlisle and Nathan Brown, has allowed him to play his more attacking game off half-back this season.
“Probably the biggest thing for me this year has been getting a big pre-season under my belt; I completed about 80-85 per cent of it so that helps a lot as well,” Webster said.
“'Browny' and Jake have been awesome down there taking the big key forwards and that gives me and ‘Robbo’ and ‘Joey’ Montagna a bit more time and space off half back.”
Since arriving at the club from the apple isle as a raw 18-year-old, Saints skipper Jarryn Geary has taken the hard nut under his wing and helped navigate him through the challenges of being inside an AFL environment.
“He’s been huge for me,” Webster said.
“When I first got here he was one of the ones who would sit down and do my vision with me and he still does; he goes through clips and some things I need to work on and what I’m doing well.
“He’s obviously one of our best small defenders and one of the best in the league, so he’s been really good for me.”
