Development Coach Ashley Hansen says a personal best four goal haul to Liam Jones on Sunday against Richmond directly relates to his increased work rate and the progress he is making in his development.
While the forward’s ability to capitalise on limited scoring opportunities was a positive, it was Jones’ capacity to cover ground to create a contest and exploit his power and speed that pleased Hansen most.
“It’s a credit to Jonesy, his work rate is right up - he’s a powerful speed athlete but he is really starting to tap into his aerobic work,” Hansen said.
“Now he is starting to get to more contests and also have the ability to chase down and tackle, which we saw on the weekend.”
Of the Bulldogs’ seven marks inside 50, five were taken by Jones, while six of his nine possessions were contested on the day and the 22-year-old also showed marked improvements in his forward craft.
“We did have limited inside 50s for the game, so for him to… start to show the forward craft that he has been doing a lot of work on – and what I mean [by] forward craft is that getting in the right position, using his body to come off his opponent and launch [at] the football,” he said.
“…All the small things that probably the public don’t see, he’s starting to put together really nicely and I suppose his development is going to make sure he is putting that together on a consistent basis.
“He’s working really hard behind closed doors and we are starting to see some rewards for that work.”
Hansen said Jones’ commitment to his routine and training was allowing him to reap the rewards and gaining consistency during the week would only help him develop as a player.
“He’s been working really hard on his routine and I think now he is starting to see results from it, he is really buying into that it is going to work for him,” he said.
“He’s just got to really concentrate on making sure his routine is the same every week, because it worked for him on the weekend.”
Forward pressure was also highlighted by Hansen as an area that Jones is beginning to lead by example in, as he develops into a more well-rounded and mature footballer.
“That is probably the vogue topic I suppose of footy at the moment - is that forward, defensive pressure,” he said.
“For a lot of guys coming into the game, especially young guys, as a forward it doesn’t probably come naturally to you, because as a youngster you just want to kick goals and get your hands on the ball.
“So it takes a while to teach these guys that they’ve got to switch off straight from the disappointment of maybe not getting the ball kicked to them to ‘alright what is the next phase of the game.’”
“And he is starting to really buy into that really well and as a leader down there, the more that he starts to do it, everyone around him is going to start to do it too.”
