Fremantle midfielder Connor Blakely said that while it was nice to be acknowledged as the Rising Star nominee for round 11, individual accolades are not his priority.
Blakely had 25 touches against Essendon on Saturday night and has had more than 18 disposals in his past four games.
Despite his strong recent form, Blakely said his initial focus was simply to maintain his spot in the team.
“It’s nice to be recognised, but also nice to get the win (against Essendon) as well,” Blakely said.
“At the start of the year, it (my focus) revolved around getting a game and solidifying my spot in the team.
“If individual recognition came then it came, but it wasn’t something I aimed to achieve.”
A lot to like from Freo youngsters
With Blakely quickly becoming a ball winner for Freo, he’s already set his eyes on a midfield battle with the Lions on Saturday.
“They’re obviously a really young team, but they’ve got some great players like Tom Rockliff,” he said.
Rockliff is coming off a career-high 48 disposals against Carlton last week, and Blakely said the Brisbane captain was part of a formidable group.
“They’re very dangerous and have a strong midfield, so it’s something we’ll have to combat,” he said.
“We’ll prepare the same, analyse the team and go over to the Gabba and give it our best shot.”
While Freo put together a good performance against the Bombers on Saturday, Blakely said the memory of their first quarter against the Saints in round 10 would continue to motivate the playing group.
“Hopefully, we’ll continue to atone for our start against the Saints, focus on playing well in the first quarter and go on from there,” he said.
“We just want to make sure we start to play like that against more teams, and on a more consistent basis.”
