MOTIVATED by the competition for senior spots, young gun Dallas Willsmore is hoping 2016 is the year he can break through for his AFL debut.
And with a strong pre-season behind him, Willsmore will have an early opportunity to impress after being named in Hawthorn’s 29-player squad for Thursday night’s NAB Challenge opener against Carlton at Aurora Stadium.
The 20-year-old was a constant in the Box Hill Hawks’ side which reached the VFL Grand Final last season, and is hoping he can make the most of the opportunity against the Blues.
“I’m just hoping to play as well as I can and play my role for the team,” he told hawthornfc.com.au.
“I just want to get that respect from the coaches and the senior players, and hopefully go on from there… maybe play another NAB Challenge game if I play well.”
Willsmore has his sights set on a senior debut this year, and has been pushing himself this pre-season to get better in every aspect.
“It drives me knowing there’s a couple of retirees and a couple of guys that have the left the club,” he said.
“I’m just doing everything I can, learning from the senior players, going through vision and trying to do everything I can to try to get that spot.
“I’ve completed every session after the Christmas break… and I’m continuing to work on my defensive actions and my versatility.
“You want to do every session to try to get in front of the guys who are in front of you, so you can earn that spot in the senior side.”
Versatility was something the 191-centimetre utility showed plenty of last year, featuring across all three lines.
The classy left-footer slotted five goals in Box Hill’s qualifying final win, but also spent time across half back and on a wing.
But it’s his consistency throughout games that he sees as a key to pushing regularly for senior selection.
“(I was) consistent last year, but I just want to play four even quarters across the game,” Willsmore said.
“There were games where I was playing a good first quarter, but was down a bit in the second and third quarter and played a good fourth quarter, so I just want to play well across all four quarters.
“Hopefully that will help elevate my game.”
