Just ask the players themselves.
Collingwoodfc.com.au conducted a mid-season survey of the club’s playing list, with the players answering a host of questions anonymously.
In the eyes of the players, Paul Seedsman is the most improved player at the club.
He finished narrowly ahead of the rejuvenated Brent Macaffer, mature age rookie Sam Dwyer and the persistent Josh Thomas.
On the eve of the season, Seedsman told collingwoodfc.com.au that he had been instructed to become a more consistent player in his third season at the Westpac Centre.
“Going into this year, the area I need to work on is playing with more consistency over four quarters,” he admitted.
“I started a couple of games well and then faded, or started slowly and then worked my way in. Along with that, an increased endurance with base fitness and strength is going to help me be a consistent performer over four quarters.”
View the results from the first installment of collingwoodfc.com.au's Player Poll, where the Magpies nominate their teammate most likely to be leading the Copeland Trophy at the halfway mark of the 2013 season.
The 21-year-old has been true to his word. He has played in 10 of Collingwood’s first 12 games, which is already just one game behind his total of 11 in his debut season. Importantly, he has played every game since round four and has gradually built up his possession count as the year has worn on.
Playing predominantly on the wing with spells across half back, Seedsman has averaged 16.9 disposals (up 4.99 per game on last year) and is ranked eighth at the club for uncontested possessions per game (12.7).
His ability to read the play has stood out, seeing him ranked third at the club behind Ben Reid and Heath Shaw in marks from opposition kicks (averaging 1.5 per game). Seedsman has always had a knack of drifting across the packs to intercept the opposition in the VFL and is now translating that into his senior performances.
Seedsman is also third at the club for inside 50s, pumping the ball in the direction of Travis Cloke and co. at an average of 4.3 times per game.
Now for the key stat.
In a year in which Ben Johnson and Alan Toovey have been absent due to injury, Seedsman has filled their void with his ability to run the lines.
He is ranked fourth at the club (behind Dane Swan, Harry O’Brien and Scott Pendlebury no less) for total metres gained, having carried the ball 4105m in his 10 games. As a result, he is averaging more metres gained per instance than any other Magpie (24.3m).
It proves that Seedsman has been able to maximise several of his key attributes, mainly his speed, evasion and ability to read the play, and mould them into a package that not only demands selection but a position as a mainstay in Collingwood’s best 22.
Of the remaining players, Dwyer (10 games, none before this year), Macaffer (11 games, four in the past two years) and Josh Thomas (none in the past three years) were all prominent amongst the nominations from their teammates.
Other players to receive nominations for the team’s most improved included Harry O’Brien, Jamie Elliott, Adam Oxley, Heath Shaw, Nathan Brown and Ben Kennedy.
Stay tuned to collingwoodfc.com.au for the player survey results of their best win and their one word summation of Collingwood’s form so far this season.
