Strength and endurance will be the two main areas of focus for talented Tiger teenager Ben Lennon in the upcoming pre-season period.
Lennon, who was Richmond’s first pick (No. 12 overall) in the 2013 AFL National Draft, played seven senior games with the Club in his debut league season this year and showed glimpses of his undoubted ability.
He is fully aware, however, that to give himself the best chance of having more of an impact in season 2015, he needs a big pre-season.
“I need to get a little bit stronger and work on my endurance, so I can run out games better and, hopefully in time, get into the midfield. So, those two things I’ll be working on,” Lennon said in a special ‘Roar Vision’ post-season interview.
“Next year, I want to play a little bit more wing/half-forward, and then maybe even a stint in the middle.
“I’ve just got to work hard throughout the pre-season and see what pops up.”
Lennon outlined what he had hoped to achieve in his inaugural league season this year . . .
“First year at Richmond’s been really good . . . I just wanted to learn as much as possible and, although I’m pretty hard on myself at times when I don’t perform, I think, at the end of the day, I just needed to learn what it was like to play AFL,” he said.
“Aspiring to be a midfielder, I’ve definitely tapped into ‘Lids’ (Brett Deledio’s) and ‘Cotch’s’ (Trent Cotchin’s) knowledge, and see how they go about it.
“Getting to know them outside of the Club, as well, has been really good, and just having them as mates, has been awesome.
“At the start of the year, I really wanted to play AFL footy, but I didn’t put a set target of how many games I wanted to play. I just wanted to play as many as I could.
“To play seven was pretty good, but, obviously, no-one would be satisfied (with that) in this industry.
“So, hopefully next year, I can play a few more and be a bit more damaging in games.”
Lennon eager to improve
Strength and endurance will be the two main areas of focus for talented Tiger teenager Ben Lennon in the upcoming pre-season period.