After hamstring injuries derailed his 2010 season, Lewis Roberts-Thomson returned to the field in 2011, bobbing up all over the ground, from forward to defence, and everything in between.
With the new interchange rule, LRT was used as a backup ruckman at times, and spent more time as a forward. He booted 12 goals for the year, nearly doubling his career total from the start of the season.
He returned to his defensive roots in the finals to cover the ill Heath Grundy.
LRT spoke to sydneyswans.com.au about his season and his varying role with the Swans.
How do you sum up your season Lewis?
Just going off the feedback I received from the coaches they were pretty happy with how I went this year. They thought the versatility I showed playing forward, back and in the ruck was really encouraging.
Personally, I just had a lot of fun. We were able to play in a few finals and the team had a few big wins throughout the season against the Saints, against the Cats, and even up in Brisbane against the Lions. They were all quality wins and it was good to be part of it.
Was it a challenge to come back into the side and have your role changed so much?
It was, but it was a good challenge. It’s all about developing and learning more about the game. I think the role I played this year allowed me to do that. I spoke to the coaches this year about working on my versatility and the challenge was to work on that area of my game.
With the new interchange rules, players need to adapt to playing in a number of positions. I just need to be able to play wherever the coaches want me to, depending on the role for that week.
You had some injury issues throughout last season, how is your body feeling now?
I finished the year on the park and that is always a key objective. The body felt really good after the pre-season operation I had and that seemed to fix the hamstring problems I’d had.
What was the highlight of the season from a team sense?
No doubt the Geelong game. It was a great win, and so too was the semi-final win over the Saints. I think in just general terms, a lot of young guys stepped up and that was really exciting. They took on plenty of responsibility and really proved themselves on the big stage.
A lot of the older guys led from the front too. Goodesy had a great year, Ryan O’Keefe was outstanding and Marty Mattner was great too. So I think there were a number of things that went right for the club.
Which players most impressed you this season?
I suppose being a defender at heart, I liked the way Ted (Richards) and Reg (Heath Grundy) really developed their games in defence, and the way Alex Johnson came in and joined the backline. Marty Mattner is very durable and had another great season, and young Smooch (Nick Smith), he was fantastic all year taking the best small forwards from the opposition. So looking at the defence, there are a lot of guys who improved and had really good years.
What areas do you and the team need to improve on for next year?
For me personally, it’s developing my role in the side and talking to the coaches and bouncing ideas of them. Getting a good pre-season under my belt is important for me too.
For the team, this year we really worked on the defensive side of things and we certainly improved in that area. For next year we could improve offensively a bit. We need to find a few more avenues to goal, spread the goal kicking load and work on our goal kicking conversion.
Re-visit sydneyswans.com.au tomorrow as Luke Parker talks us through some of the experiences from his debut season at the Swans.