Rayner’s Brissie relief

TOP draft pick Cameron Rayner says it was a blessing in disguise for his game making the move interstate to escape the scrutiny of being the No. 1 selection in footy- mad Melbourne.

As Rayner prepares to hand over to a new No. 1 pick in next week’s national draft, the Lions’ young gun believed his debut season in the AFL was made easier by being in Brisbane.

“Starting off was a little bit daunting I reckon, it ( selection at No. 1) was pretty publicised,’’ Rayner said.

“But I reckon the best thing for me was coming to Brisbane, you kind of get out of the spotlight a little bit and you can just come up here and focus on your footy and your training.

“I think that was probably the most important thing I needed to do. Obviously going to an AFL club from junior footy was pretty hard.

“So being able to come up here and not have to worry about not much beside my footy was probably a bit of a blessing in disguise.’’

Rayner, who hailed from the Western Jets, was taken at No. 1 overall by the Lions in the 2017 national draft after winning all- Australian honours in the under- 18s.

The exciting forward played 22 games in his debut season, kicking 20 goals.

Rayner admitted his start to the year “wasn’t up to scratch” but he was buoyed by a strong finish.

“I was just getting my bearings a little bit,’’ Rayner said.

“But as the year progressed I got a bit better and felt a bit more comfortable out there and the strong back end to my season probably made me a little bit more excited for next year.’’

Standing at 187cm and weighing 87kg, Rayner said learning to play against more mature and bigger bodied players had been his biggest adjustment in his first season.

“The bigger bodies are probably what took me by surprise. You are playing against full grown men and obviously being an 18- year- old for most of the year coming up against blokes that were 10 years older than me was a bit tough,’’ Rayner said.

“Playing in the ( under) 18s I used my body around the contest a lot because I was a lot bigger than most of the other 18- year- olds.

“Then when you come up against people that are a lot older than you it’s a lot harder to do. You kind of pick and choose when you do that and when you’ve got a strength advantage or if you need to beat someone off the start.”