FARREN Ray is enjoying his most productive season since 2010, collecting 20 or more disposals in eight of his last 10 games.
Against Hawthorn, Ray amassed 30 possessions for the first time since round 16 2009 and was named St Kilda’s Silk-Miller medallist.
The elusive wingman reflected on his stint in the VFL last year as a crucial learning experience, one that has propelled him to be one of the Saints most consistent performers this season.
“Last year I played only 11 [AFL] games,” The 27-year-old said. “It could have gone two ways: It could have gone towards the end of my career or I could have developed my game and become a leader of the team and hopefully I’m doing that.”
“I think last year in the twos taught me so much.”
A valuable contributor in St Kilda’s last 13 matches, durability is just one aspect of Ray’s game that he has worked on. More significant is his offensive penetration, the midfielder averaging 21.1 disposals per game and ranked second in the club for marks.
“[Prior to last year] I probably got into the habit of over defending and rolling back in the back half too much,” he said on Melbourne radio station SEN.
“Probably in the latter stages of 2011 I got into a few bad habits and the teams’ form probably wasn’t as good.”
Enter Scott Watters, equipped with a new game-plan and fresh ideas. According to Ray, this change reinvigorated him.
“Scott came in and identified that I probably needed to be more attacking on the wing and a bit more flair. I needed to work on my inside 50s and my penetration. My attack indicators this year are through the roof from last year.”
Ray’s good form this season, coupled with his 173 games of experience has seen his name mentioned in leadership discussions around the media. While a leadership title is something he would relish, he admitted it is more important that he continues to play good football for the remaining three matches of the year.
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“I’ve never gone out and said ‘yeah look I want to get into the leadership group’, I’ve never sort of forced things like that,” he said. If it naturally happens and the club needs me to step up [then I will].”
“Ultimately that will be the players and Scott’s decision.”
Another decision Watters will have to make in the next three weeks revolves around Justin Koschitzke’s 200th game. For the last five years Ray has played alongside the popular ruckman and hopes he will get an opportunity to reach the milestone once his injured calf recovers.
“I would have thought Kosi will come in and play his 200th game,” Ray said. “He’s been a stalwart for the club… He’s come through with a good wave of guys: Riewoldt, Montagna, and Dal Santo - they’ve sort of carried the club over the last few years.”
You can follow Tom Morris on Twitter: @tommorris32
