AFTER the least productive season of his career, Fremantle livewire Hayden Ballantyne aims to stay injury-free and avoid suspension in a bid to recapture his All Australian form of 2014.
Ballantyne endured a difficult 2015 season where he played just 15 games and kicked just 15 goals following his stellar 2014 where he was named All Australian for the first time after kicking 49 goals.
His scoring ratio of a goal per game was the worst of his career, ranking below his debut season of 2009 (10 goals from eight games) and 2011 (23 goals, 17 games).
Brownlow medallist Fyfe hits the track
Ballantyne's interrupted campaign could hardly have come at a more inconvenient time for the Dockers, given coach Ross Lyon had explicitly sought to improve his side's offence by about two goals a game ahead of 2015.
The small forward's troubles began in the 2015 pre-season when he suffered an untimely calf problem in the lead up to round one. But after kicking three goals in the first two games he was suspended for a high bump on Geelong's Harry Taylor and missed two matches.
He then kicked just nine goals in his next 11 games before tearing his pectoral muscle in round 16, which saw him miss seven weeks in the lead-up to the finals.
Ballantyne did find some touch in September, bagging three vital goals in the qualifying final win over the Sydney Swans.
But with a disappointing season now just a memory, he was keeping it simple ahead of 2016.
"I've got to try to stay on the park for the whole season," he said.
"I've never played a full year of football. I've always missed some games each year through either injury or suspension.
"My aim for this year, as is every year, is to play the full season and do my role, which is to pressure and kick goals."
Freo's bid to boost its offence next year had been helped by the arrival of "bona fide star" Harley Bennell, Ballantyne said, adding that he wouldn't be surprised if Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe spent more time playing forward.
"Fyfe's got a good overhead mark, so he could push down and play a bit more forward," Ballantyne said.
"Harley swinging through the half-forward line would be a bonus for us too.
"He's a bona fide star already. He's played some great footy. As long as he can continue to play good footy with us and continue to grow as a player, we'll be rapt with that.
"But to be honest, I haven't thought that far ahead, because we're only in day one."
Ballantyne took part in a light training session at Fremantle Oval on Tuesday as the full squad was eased back into pre-season training ahead of the club's 3km time trial on Wednesday.
Ballantyne said he felt in reasonable shape after representing Australia in the International Rules Test in Ireland recently.
"I feel really good," Ballantyne said.
"Luckily enough I got to train a fair bit over in Ireland and New York, so the fitness levels aren't too bad at the moment. But tomorrow will be the real test to see how I'm really travelling."
Ballantyne said working with Hawthorn's four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson and Geelong mentor Chris Scott, as well as Lyon, during the International Rules series had been a rewarding experience.
Scott and Ballantyne aren't total strangers, having shared two years at the Dockers when Scott was an assistant coach under Mark Harvey.
"I learnt that the coaches aren't coaching all that different from each other," Ballantyne said.
"Chris, Ross, and Alastair Clarkson all coach in fairly similar ways, just little subtle tweaks here or there and different terminologies as well."
