OVER 15 years at St Kilda, Lenny Hayes has seen plenty of evolution and change.
The Saints’ longest-serving current player has been through 15 seasons under five different coaches.
He has experienced life at both ends of the ladder and knows better than most, the constant generational change that comes with being a part of an AFL club.
“Teams go through the evolution of the side and we have had a lot of changes in the past two or three years and that is the way it goes,” Hayes said.
“As an older group of players we have spoken about trying to help out these young guys as much as we can and try to fast track their development.”
[ RELATED: Lenny on the road back ]
Much has been made of the change at St Kilda in 2013, with a strong youth push standing out in the first half of the season.
Hayes said he noticed on the club’s high-altitude training camp in December that the Saints had a new feel about them.
“When we had our pre-season camp in Colorado, you have a look around and you see how many young faces you have around the place,” he said.
“That is something that we have spoken to the older guys about a bit. It might take a while for the club to play finals again – it probably won’t be this year, it may next year but it is very hard to tell.”
[ RELATED: Full injury list ]
It is not just the club that has changed in that time, with many aspects of the sport completely different to when Hayes was drafted in 1998.
“I tend to agree that the game has quickened up and even with a few of the rules around the congestion, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of secondary stoppages now. It is either in the back or holding the ball and the game flows,” Hayes told radio station 3AW.
“The demands are higher than ever but I suppose the training has changed a bit as well so you are not doing as much of that longer stuff, it is more the bursty stuff. I think players adapt.”
One of the new rule interpretations has been the sliding rule, which resulted in Hayes giving away a free kick in the round one game against Gold Coast.
That incident was widely discussed in the aftermath of the loss and Hayes admitted it was hard to curb his natural approach.
“It has certainly been a shift in the mindset when you’re going into a contest. And that is something I have battled with a little bit, you are certainly second guessing yourself,” he said.
“I agree with the rule in the sense that it is there to protect players, and in some sense I feel sorry for the umpires – it is very hard to adjudicate and how do measure the impact it has.”
