Richmond young gun Brandon Ellis has set his sights on further boosting his on-field versatility in 2014.
The talented 20-year-old, who produced some eye-catching performances as a hard-running, outside midfielder, in just his second season of AFL football in 2013, is looking to take on more of an inside role in the Tigers’ midfield.
“They know I can go back, and I can go forward, but I want to improve my inside game,” Ellis said.
‘Bring the Roar Home’ with the Tigers and become a 2014 Richmond member today.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time with ‘Cotchy’ (Trent Cotchin) and those inside ‘mids’.
“Cotchy’s really taken me under his wing this year to help me out as much as he can . . .
“I want to get more versatility in my game because the more positions that I can play, the more I’ll be up for selection each week.
“I’ll probably still play out on a wing and go half-back when the team needs me, but, hopefully, go through the middle a lot more.
“The midfield’s really the engine room. You need at least 12 or 13 midfielders because there’s going to be injuries probably every week, which you don’t want to happen, but it’s basically inevitable.
“The Club’s never really had depth like that before. Now that we’ve got it, we know that, just say if Cotchy goes down one week, or ‘Jacko’ (Daniel Jackson) goes down one week, someone’s going to come in, fill their place, and play their role for the team.”
Ellis declared this the toughest of the three pre-seasons he’s been involved in so far at Tigerland.
“It’s the hardest I’ve had, considering the last two years that I’ve been here, I’ve probably only done 75-80 percent. But they’ve thrown me in the deep end this year and made me do 95-100 percent,” he said.
“So, it’s been pretty tough, but the best I’ve had so far.”
That said, Ellis can’t wait for Richmond’s first match of the pre-season series, against Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Friday, February 14.
“I’m sick of pre-season already – I’m sure everyone is,” he said.
“Get through this week and next week, and then we’ve got Melbourne, so everyone’s looking forward to that and really excited to get back out there.”
