Hayball putting runs on the board
THERE is no better way to improve than to train alongside the best, and young Cat Matthew Hayball has quickly adopted that attitude.
Given an early end to last season to focus on improving his strength and running, Hayball has turned himself into an athlete to get himself from contest to contest.
The 20-year-old, who arrived at the Cats with the last pick in the 2015 national draft, delivered one of his best performances yesterday against Ballarat, kicking a goal and collecting 19 touches including nine in the last term, showcasing his ability to run out games.
He was a standout during preseason sprint work, creating a duel with Zach Tuohy to become the best runner at the club.
“(I’m) just trying to keep with those guys as much as I can; just trying to match it with them is the best way to try and improve,” Hayball said. “He’s a great runner, Tuohy, he’s very powerful, so just trying to hang off the back of those guys in the preseason is a good way to get better.”
Andrew Mackie has been one guy to take Hayball under his wing, and the former South Australian has hung on the veteran’s every word. “I’ve got a really good relationship with Andrew Mackie,” he said.
“I’ve been playing predominantly down back this year, just going forward occasionally. I just look to ‘Mack’ whenever I can, he’s got a lot of experience and is a great guy to talk to, so it’s good to have a great relationship with him; it’s very helpful.”
Hayball said his focus was to continue to find the footy and work on his disposal efficiency.
“End of last year we put the games on ice a bit early and just tried to focus on getting a bit more physically ready; get stronger, get a better endurance base,” he said.
“I think having a bit better running capacity under the belt this year has made it a lot easier to have a couple of extra efforts.
“I think I’m a bit more physically capable this year, so I’ll just keep building that form and get my hands on the footy as much as I can, gain that confidence every week.”