Dependable Tiger small defender Nick Vlastuin provides ‘Roar Vision’ with an assessment of his 2016 season . . .
Ups and downs
“This year I got off to a good start, then hit a rough patch and then got injured.”
Defensive focus
“I’ve been working on my defensive game a fair bit. The last couple of years, I’ve been a bit high half-back, rebounding, and this year I was down deep, playing on some different-type players than just the crafty ones up the field.”
Team within the team
“The back six is pretty solid. We’ve got a tight-knit little group. ‘Rancey’ (Alex Rance) is probably the most boisterous one, but everyone shows leadership down there at different stages . . .”
Aims for 2017
“I think I’ve got a lot to improve on. My fitness is probably the main one. Hopefully, I can get a bit more midfield time if one of the boys gets injured in there. When ‘Cotch’ (Trent Cotchin) hurt himself (during the season), I got a bit of time in there, which was a bit of fun.”
Lessons learned
“I’d played finals every year I’d been at the Club, and this year we weren’t so fortunate. (It shows) just how hard you have to work, year in, year out. And how much a solid pre-season helps you as well.”
Exciting times ahead
“I’m pretty excited what next year has in store for us. We’re going to be pretty active in the trade period and there’s a fair few young boys . . . Jayden Short and Oleg Markov really ended the year pretty well. And Dan Rioli is going to be a star.”
