Cam Rayner has lost 4kg and is feeling fit as he eyes more midfield time for Brisbane in 2020
Cam Rayner has learnt lessons from criticism he copped in his second season and is ready to use that, plus his new fitter and trimmer frame to have more of an impact for Brisbane in 2020.
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Brisbane Lions young gun Cam Rayner has described the second-year scrutiny he faced as a major learning curve that will help fuel his game this season and for the rest of his career.
After a standout debut season with the Lions, the former No.1 draft pick endured a challenging 2019 amid inconsistent form and suggestions he could lose his spot in the team.
But the 20-year-old forward is adamant he has emerged from a tough second season with the tools and knowledge he needs to take his game to the next level.
“I felt a lot of people forgot that it was just my second year,” Rayner said.
“You get a lot of flack … but I’m a pretty easy going guy and I just kind of looked at it and thought it’s just a lot of people from the outside that don’t really have much of an idea what’s going on at the footy club.
“The first couple of months after being drafted, the number one draft pick, it’s pretty crazy, everything is so surreal and it almost feels like it’s all a dream.
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“But it does get to that point where things start to get a bit more serious and you’ve really got to start focusing on what’s going on. There are things that I took out of (last year) that I will use this year and I’ll probably use for the rest of my life.
“I guess it was just a good thing to go through to have a little adversity and see what it’s like and I feel towards the back end of the year I really started to play some of my best footy.
“That was good for me because I kind of said to myself that when things are going tough I really can turn it around and play my best.”
As the young Lions embarked on a fairytale semi-final run last year, Rayner again played every game for the season, kicking 20 goals.
As he targets more midfield time in 2020, Rayner has honed in on his fitness over the off-season, dropping four kilograms to a “comfortable” playing weight of 90kg.
Resisting too much of mum’s home cooking on trips home to Melbourne and not indulging in too many cold bevvies on nights among the sacrifices he has made.
“There are things that I took from my first year that I probably didn’t do as well and brought it into this pre-season which have helped me,” Rayner said.
“Another learning was coming back home and not eating every single meal that mum puts on the plate and when you go out have a couple of beers, not doing that all the time as well.
“I’m feeling really fit. I’m around 90kg now which is nearly the lowest I’ve been at the club.
“I think I was sitting around 93 or 94kg. So to drop around 4kg was pretty good for me and was something I needed to do. So I’m at a comfortable weight now, which I’m happy at.”
Rayner rebooted for season 2020 and his pre-season assault on a European vacation with teammates Mitchell Hinge and Alex Witherden during the off-season break.
And he has been using regular golf games with his teammates and a recently purchased “tinny boat” for fishing trips as an escape from football.
On field though, the big fish he wants to reel in this season is a midfield berth.
“The big thing is trying to get more into the midfield,” Rayner said. “I feel like I can really help our team there and I have been doing that in the pre-season this year.
“That’s the goal. I’ve been trying to do that this year in the pre-season and we are going to keep trying it out this year and see what happens.
“The coach has been pretty good and I’ve been trying to work on it as much as I can, so when it comes down to games it’s something else I can add to my bow.”
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Originally published as Cam Rayner has lost 4kg and is feeling fit as he eyes more midfield time for Brisbane in 2020