Player Column – Josh Pullman Round 8

I HAVE been fortunate enough to play in some great forward-lines in my career so far, and I’m a big fan of the squad of forwards we have now at both senior and reserves levels at South Fremantle.

A common theme amongst the successful forward-lines at most higher tiers of footy seems to be the old adage of a team-first mentality.
 
Although fostering a genuine, consistent team-first mentality sounds simple on paper, it’s actually a tough mindset to instil and maintain in players in a highly competitive environment. This is especially true amongst forward lines, whose job it is to individually contribute and collectively produce goals in order to hold their spot in a side.There are a number of players who provide a great example to our younger guys of what this mentality looks like.

Craig White is one of the first to spring to mind. He’s a player you can rely on to attack the footy like a guy twice his size, and provides constant instructional voice to maintain and adapt our structures to the demands of the game.
 
Stevey Verrier is built like Adonis, and has demonstrated numerous times already this season his willingness to use that rig of his to tackle, block, run to create space for others and to work an opponent over.
 
Despite his healthy hunger and uncanny awareness of the goals, Ben Saunders generates more team goals than he gets public credit for. Playing alongside him, he seems to almost have a kind of impact radius of about 20 metres, where he can use his closing speed and repeat efforts to pressure opposition back-lines into an error, after which either he, or someone else can try and hurt them on the scoreboard. He doesn’t mind celebrating a goal or an 8 foot one-handed horizontal screamer of a mark either.
 
Jimmy Sellar regularly uses his tactical nous and past experience at the top level to put the team first. On game day, he’s quick to identify how to get the most out of the team’s purple patch, and provides great leadership when we take stock during the breaks. It’s really valuable to have a player of his calibre who is willing to take himself out of a passage of play in order to unlock a one-on-one opportunity for another forward or resting midfielder.
 
Although it’s great to see Corey Dell'Olio’s form get better and better since his first game back for the club, the thing I’ve enjoyed most about his contribution this season is his instilling the expectation that we replicate game-day as closely as possible during training. Whether he’s dragged that back to the club from his time in the AFL system, or whether it’s always been a trait of his I don’t know. It’s a great model for our younger players to follow, and has a ripple effect that helps ensure we get the most we possibly can out of the short time we’re on the track each week.
 
Traye Bennell’s and Jakey Dragovich’s attitude towards taking on feedback and willingness to use their significant speed on game day have been great to watch develop so quickly. They can apply pressure and hurt teams on the transition by gaining ground for us on the break. As a tall forward, it’s good to know that even if I can’t catch it, as long as I make a contest either they, or Dells, won’t be far away.
 
It goes without saying that building on and consistently replicating this team-first mentality in our forward line will be a key variable in determining our success this year. Form, injuries and many other X-factors will inevitably take their toll, but with Benny Sokol, Johnny Sgherza, Gumby and Whitey amongst many others contributing to a high-functioning forward-line in the reserves, we have some genuine depth that should prove more than handy as the year rolls on.