A solid work ethic drives Brisbane Lions player Tom Rockliff

TOM Rockliff is emerging as one of the key players if the Brisbane Lions are to scale any great heights in the future.

TOM Rockliff is the first to admit that he "couldn't run out of sight on a dark night".

But as sure as Rockliff is an old-school footballer first and an athlete a distant second, Brisbane will not be able to scale great heights in the future without him.

The Lions host St Kilda at the Gabba tomorrow night and while the club's bid for the finals may fall short in 2012, Brisbane are building towards a full-scale tilt at the top eight.

An ultra-competitive streak that oozes out of Rockliff, 22, is the intangible quality that every successful footy club needs to breathe the rarefied air of September action.

It is an edge born out of having to scrap, scrape and scramble his way into an AFL career.

Nothing has come easy for the midfielder who hails from the Victorian town of Benalla, 200km outside of Melbourne.

When you are written off for being too slow and just not up to it, proving people wrong is a powerful motivating force.

He suffered a badly broken leg in the under-16 national titles in 2006 playing for Victoria Country and employed the services of Benalla butcher and former professional athlete Paul Donohue to get him up and running again.

He was not a walk-up start for the TAC Cup under-18 competition and was only called into the elite junior league after kicking a bagful of goals for the Benalla Saints seniors in the Goulburn Valley Football League where he played alongside former Kangaroos captain Anthony Stevens.

After 16 clubs took their turn through 85 picks in the 2008 national draft, he remained without a team despite being the leading goalkicker in the TAC Cup and the best-and-fairest winner for the premiership-winning Murray Bushrangers.

He trained with Melbourne over the summer in the hope of being selected in the last-chance pre-season draft but the Demons picked Liam Jurrah.

Brisbane eventually took him with pick No.5 but Rockliff played just one AFL game in 2009 while his contemporaries Daniel Rich and Jack Redden thrived in senior football.

An off-season spent doing extra boxing training ensured his "motor" caught up with his obvious footy nous and he has been a fixture in the Brisbane line-up since 2010, winning the best-and-fairest in 2011 and being elevated to the leadership group.

He does not possess the long, raking kick and attacking threat of Rich or the physical presence and aggression of Redden but he is every bit as important to Brisbane's future.

His ability to win the ball in tight and use it well is crucial to Brisbane hopes.

Nobody at Brisbane has touched the Sherrin more in 2012 than Rockliff, who averages 27 disposals a game.

"At the time (2008) I was quite disappointed that I didn't get picked up in the draft but all I really wanted was an opportunity to prove myself. Prove to people that I could compete at the highest level," he said.

"They (AFL scouts) said I was a good small forward in junior footy but didn't know whether I could translate that into senior footy. They were big on drafting athletes and my speed and endurance wasn't great.

"I'm extremely competitive. I get competitive with everything whether it be tenpin bowling or whatever.

"It's just something in my blood, I can't help it. I've always wanted to win.

"I think we have got a group at the Lions that wants to fight its way up the ladder and we are definitely starting to build towards something."

Lions coach Michael Voss loves Rockliff's fighting spirit.

"Most of his career, Tom has been told that his limitations will stop him from reaching the next level but he has only used that to fuel his motivation," he said.

"Talent and skill is important but that thirst for success, that real hunger to want more is what underpins it all.

"You hope that all your players have that hunger. I know Rocky does.

"His speed over the ground isn't a strength but he is quick to make good decisions and read the game.

"He understands the game plan so well. That is his strength.

"