ST KILDA'S three-win season could have broken the club's young players, but clever management has allowed the group to stay fresh and develop, according to Jimmy Webster.
After his first season was ruined by shin splints, Webster has been strategically rested at points this year, allowing him to play nine AFL games and four at VFL level.
Jack Newnes (15 games this season) and Seb Ross (10), who have enjoyed promising seasons, have also been rotated out of the team and given rests to avoid burnout.
Meanwhile, Nathan Wright (eight), Josh Saunders (seven), Brodie Murdoch (six), Tom Lee (six) and Tom Curren (two) have made their debuts.
Webster, who made his debut in round seven, said keeping the young group fresh had been a strategic focus for the club.
"We're obviously not used to the workload and backing up every day at training, so it's been good for me and the other boys to have a weekend off, or a game off, just to get back on our feet a little bit," Webster told AFL.com.au.
"For me it has been [strategic]. With my shin splints, the club wanted to manage how much I did.
"It's been about managing what I do through the week and then on game day as well."
Webster has been one of the good news stories for St Kilda in a forgettable season that has seen the club lose nine of its past 10 games.
The tough half-back with a damaging left foot kick has come a long way after playing with Sandringham's VFL reserves in 2012.
"Last year I was struggling with injury and I was out overall for about eight weeks," he said.
"When I got drafted I thought I was going to be straight into the AFL and playing senior footy. It's just a massive step up.
"My body's held up and I haven't had any troubles this year with the shin splints, so hopefully they've gone away."
St Kilda's focus on rotating its young players through the team has kept them fit and available with five rounds to play.
Webster said there had been "massive improvement" among the first, second and third-year players and they were a group committed to playing together for a long time.
"I definitely want to play the rest of my life here," he said.
"With Jack Newnes and Seb Ross, it was good for all of us to re-sign together and hopefully we can be the future of the club.
"We didn't really talk too much about it, but we all want to stay together and play footy with each other.
"We're here to play AFL footy. That was our dream, so it'd be good if we can stay here for our whole careers."
Nathan Schmook is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter @AFL_Nathan
