Fremantle youngster Lachie Neale stands up under the heat, according to coach Ross Lyon.
The coach could not be happier with the development of his 21-year-old midfielder ahead of his 50th game against the Sydney Swans on Anzac Day.
Neale himself feels the 50-game milestone is of little consequence.
But winning a second Ross Glendinning medal last week for his 42-possession, three-goal performance, in another Carlton Draught Derby win for Fremantle was an achievement worthy of note.
Last season Neale become the youngest player to win a Ross Glendinning medal, now he's the youngest to win two.
Lyon said after the performance that Neale was a big game player.
"Lachie stands up under heat," Lyon said last Sunday.
"He stands up under finals-type footy because he wins his own ball and he's a selfless team player."
But Lyon hasn't always been effusive with his praise of Neale.
The youngster had to work very hard in his first two seasons at the club to break into the side and maintain his place. He played just 23 matches across his first two years after being drafted with pick No.58 in the 2011 NAB AFL draft, as he bounced between the AFL and the WAFL.
"He hasn't been perfect," Lyon said.
"We've had a couple of honest conversations, but he's dedicated to his footy and he wants to be a top-flight player.
"We don't do anything to that except provide him the environment that allows him to do that.
"He's incredibly focused, as it sits at the minute, and hard-working. But you might write a headline and if we have to give him a clip over the head, we will.
"But he's a fine young man who is displaying great character on the footy field."
Neale spoke of the influence that assistant coach and 2005 Sydney Swans premiership player Brett Kirk has had on his development in recent times.
"He (was) an inside beast of the competition when he was playing," Neale said.
"So I guess for me, my hardness and tackles, and things like that, had to improve when I walked through the door. So he has really helped me with that and as you know he is one of the fiercest blokes that played. So to have him around has been a massive help for me.
Teammate Michael Barlow thinks Neale has flown under the radar amongst a midfield that boasts stars like Nat Fyfe, Stephen Hill and David Mundy. But Barlow believes that Neale might become a marked man now.
"He's a super young player," Barlow said.
"He's so clean.
"I'd like to think at a lot of the teams around the competition he'd be a really marked man, a front-line player, and for us we just really value what he does."
