Fremantle defender Lee Spurr tightens his resolve for new season

TOUGH Fremantle defender Lee Spurr won't accept he has a stranglehold on a back-pocket ahead of a new Dockers premiership drive.

Fremantle Dockers players (L-R) Zac Dawson, Michael Barlow and Lee Spurr in the Red Cross Soup Kitchen which deliveries to ho...

TOUGH Fremantle defender Lee Spurr won't accept he has a stranglehold on a back-pocket ahead of a new Dockers premiership drive.

But Spurr is clearly rated with greater value around Fremantle than he thinks.

On the back of fifth place in Fremantle's fairest-and-best, winning the best clubman award and a superb finals campaign, coach Ross Lyon even considers him a future leader.

Spurr was among the first few picked each week but has adopted a start again theory as he heads into only his second full AFL season.

"No one really thinks they are a certain starter every week," Spurr said this week.

"We've got a lot of young players coming up and everyone is really striving for positions and at this stage and pre-season is all about proving you can be the best you can be.

"That's probably the best thing about our club at the moment.

"We're all really pushing each other to get better and we all know that spots are tight."

Spurr, 26, revealed that he has only watched fleeting Grand Final replay clips in briefing sessions with Lyon.

He concedes that it may be years before he watches the entire game in which he played on Cyril Rioli.

The defensive specialist, who conceded just 21 goals in his 23 engagements last season and as many as an impressive eight clean sheets, is convinced the Dockers will be an even more imposing title threat this year.

The Dockers have a more intimidating fixture than last season but still sit an early favourite for the flag ahead of Sydney and the Hawks.

"I understand my role a lot better after playing a full year and playing with other players and I feel very comfortable out on the field and that's my main focus," Spurr said.

"You've got to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and the more uncomfortable it is and if you play a couple of bad games in a row and someone is playing well, that's the integrity in our group is that there is strength in selection.

"I'd like to continue along that sort of vein and play on the best opposition small forward and play my role for the team and also if I can get involved in some play and contribute that way it will be nice."

The finest performance of his short but impressive 36-game career was in Freo's finals victory over Geelong at the Cattery with 29 possessions and 11 interceptions as the Dockers manufactured a stirring 15-point win to grab a vital home preliminary final a fortnight later against the then reigning champions Sydney.

Lee Spurr's ability to read the play - and toughness - impressed against the Cats. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Spurr is convinced the Geelong victory and harsh lessons that suffering a gut-wrenching Grand Final loss throws up can be a launching pad for an even better Dockers unit this season.

"We've got a great belief in our group that our best footy can match it with anyone," Spurr said.

"The fact that we were playing Geelong in Geelong was an issue. We're an anywhere, anytime team and we wanted to go down there and play our game and on that day we played our brand of footy to a tee which really stood up on the big stage.

"We gave great effort and execution of each role.

"And it all came together, if you've got 22 players all doing that anyone is going to struggle to beat you or if you don't win, you're going to be unlucky.

"You want to improve and when you start thinking there's a stage that you've made it, that's going to come back and bite you on the bum.

"If you're not looking to improve then you're probably going backwards."

A significant objective in the league's tightest defensive outfit in early training appears to be a distinctly quicker movement of the football from backward of centre into scoring zones and even more forward line marking and ground level opportunities than last season.

Spurr concedes that rapid and slick ball transition from defence into attack is a strategic intention for the Dockers in match assimilation drills.

"I think all sides look to move the ball quickly out of defence," he said.

"The quicker you get it out of defence, the quicker you get into attack.

"A lot of sides are looking to do that and that's not a specific action from us, we're just looking to move the ball as quickly as we can anyway."

But in typically dour defensive mode and giving little away in the tight Dockers mantra, Spurr was swift to play down any revelations of startling change in Fremantle's style to stay in their premiership hunt in 2014.

"At this stage of our training we're just looking to get fit and be up and available," he said.

"We know we have to improve.

"We fell short last year and it's a clean slate this year.

"We're looking to improve in every aspect, whether that is physically and mentally we want to be a better side and a better group and be more cohesive."

Spurr is also a dedicated community servant giving up his own spare time to help homeless and under privileged around Fremantle in Red Cross Soup Kitchen runs.