While Lachie Weller may have played every game so far in 2016 and was rewarded for his performance against Brisbane with an AFL Rising Star nomination, the Freo youngster said his goal remains the same.
“(I’ll continue to) take my moment to improve,” Weller said.
“There wasn’t just one goal (in 2016), it’s just to play as many games as possible and keep improving.”
Weller said senior coach Ross Lyon has been a constant presence in his growth as a player, both when he came to club in 2014 and on a day-to-day basis.
“Things don’t change with Ross, win, lose or draw,” he said.
“He’s been the most influential person so far since I’ve been here and I’m learning a lot every day from him and really enjoying it.
HBF Injury Update: Pavlich and Yarran latest
“When you come out of junior (football) you kind of hunt the ball and now you have to learn that it’s a 360 game and I’m learning about that and decision making so that’s what I’m (continuing) to work on.”
While Weller has elevated his game in recent weeks, the pacey youngster was quick to credit the influence of Freo’s experienced forwards.
“Their leadership (Walters and Ballantyne) has been fantastic up forward along with Chris Mayne, who I thought was great on the weekend with his voice in the absence of ‘Pav’ (Pavlich),” he said.
“They’ve really stepped up with a few injuries in the leadership group so I’m really enjoying learning off them.”
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Despite being in good form and Freo coming off consecutive big wins, Weller said the team wouldn’t get ahead of themselves as they prepare for the Fremantle Dockers Foundation Round clash with Port Adelaide on Saturday.
“The past two weeks we’ve definitely improved our football (but) we’re not getting carried away because we need (be able) to do that against the good sides,” he said.
“They’re (Port Adelaide) a hard-running side and went down by three points (against Western Bulldogs) so they’ll be looking to bounce back.”