In the Sunday Q&A, Collingwood youngster Paul Seedsman explains the influence that premiership defender Harry O'Brien has had on his career to date and forecasts his likely roles in the senior side on the eve of his third season.

Luke Mason: You turned 21 last week and you’re entering your third year on an AFL list. Do the past two years feel like a bit of a blur? You’re one of only two players remaining from that 2010 draft.
Paul Seedsman: Yeah, Fas (Alex Fasolo) and I are the two left. They got rid of them pretty quickly but just looking back, it’s my third year already so it just shows how quickly the time flies. You can’t be caught taking it all in. You’ve got to go forward otherwise you’ll be out the door as quick as you can, so you’ve just got to take the opportunity. Going into my third year, hopefully I’m able to step it up and play more regular senior football.

LM: You arrived at the club as the 76th selection in the 2010 National Draft. Being taken so late in the draft, what were your expectations?
PS: Collingwood has… I haven’t been to another club so I can’t speak for them, but it’s obviously pretty clear that Collingwood has the best facilities going around. The development system that’s in place with the development coaches and the senior coaches has been really big for me, in terms of giving me the confidence to play the way I guess I play my best football. They’ve supported me and they’ve been really good in giving great advice.??Also the senior boys around here like Harry O’Brien and Pendles (Scott Pendlebury) and sharing a locker next to Heath Shaw means you’re learning from the best all the time. As well as that, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do, so once I got the opportunity I wanted to make sure I could take it. I didn’t want to be one of those blokes who could be in and out in a year or two. I’ve just got to make sure I keep working hard.

LM: Did you expect to play as many games (11) as you did last year? What did you have in mind as you entered 2012?
PS: I don’t know whether I laid any expectations at the beginning of the season but I sort of wanted to aim to play 10 or more games, so I got it by one. I want to play more than what I did. There was a big chunk that I missed during the season, which was due to just a lack of consistency and my training standards dropped. I look back at that period and would have liked to have got more out of it and not have such a big exodus from the senior team. You learn from that, and I came back and played six games in a row late in the season, which was good.

LM: You debuted for the club you grew up supporting in front of 78,000 in round one against the 2011 Preliminary Finalists. Describe what you experienced on the night.
PS: It was obviously an amazing experience, debuting in round one at the MCG against Hawthorn in front of just under 80,000. I guess it was a little bit different being the sub because you’re not in the game straight away. As it was I came on just before three quarter time, or maybe just after, I can’t remember. The nervous energy that you have at the beginning…it’s different because you’re coming on a lot later. You’re not starting in the game so that nervous energy plateaus and you sort of get a feel with blokes coming on that it’s just another game of football.

Whereas against Essendon, that was the first game that I started on the field in round five on ANZAC Day. That was a little bit different with a lot more nervous energy going through you when you’re out there starting the game. I would have liked to have started in my first game and to play off that nervous energy I guess but it was still an awesome feeling and still probably the highlight of my life so far.

LM: You were regularly donning the green and red vests in the early rounds of the season. What is life like as the designated substitute?
PS: I think I started as sub in three or four of my first games and then I got subbed out twice. It doesn’t change the way that you prepare to play because an injury could go in the first five minutes, like against Richmond when Taz (Chris Tarrant) went down in the first quarter so I was on at quarter time. But other times you’re not on until the fourth quarter, so there’s a lot of sitting around and waiting.

It’s hard to stay in the game. You’re always watching it on the bench but it’s hard when you can’t go out until you’ve got rid of the vest, so it’s sort of frustrating at times. You want to help your teammates and you want to get out there and help the boys along but you can’t.

With the reduced game time, at the beginning of the year it probably helped me because I was a bit underdone in my fitness and preparation. I was able to come on for short periods of time and have an impact in a couple of games late in the game because I had fresh legs or I wasn’t shown up for lacking that fitness base over the pre-season. So it helped me in that sense. I probably wouldn’t have got a game (without the substitute rule). I was always going to be the sub for the first few rounds because of that preparation so it helped me in that sense.

LM: You didn’t play any senior football between rounds eight and 16 but you looked a real show for finals footy during that period late in the year when you had some big games against Greater Western Sydney and Sydney. Did that leave you feeling as if you are close to becoming a regular?
PS: I got a lot of confidence out of playing senior football late in the season and also playing six games in a row where you get a feel for the pace and the physicality and everything like that. I sort of felt that the second time around I’d earned my place whereas at the beginning of the year there were a lot more injuries. I was not gifted a game but the opportunity probably wouldn’t have been there had there been a full list to choose from.

Going into this year, having played 11 games last year I want to build on that and hopefully become a regular in the side. The coaches are really good in giving good feedback and really helping me stay positive. Hopefully I can take it to the next level this year.

LM: After the round 22 loss to the Eagles you fell out of the side, but remained an emergency in each of the three finals. Were you particularly close to breaking in at any stage?
PS: Not really. I had a good game against Sydney in round 20 up there so I guess for the Prelim, having played well up there I was sort of around the mark but emergency’s emergency. Even though I was close I still wasn’t in the 22. I travelled with them up there like all the other emergencies so I wouldn’t have said that I was ahead of the other two (Marty Clarke and Jackson Paine).

LM: So now the challenge has been laid down for 2013. What feedback did you get from the coaches post-season, and what have you been working particularly hard on during the pre-season?
PS: My feedback from the coaches was about the areas that I need to work on. There were positives in there as well, debuting and being able to play some senior football was good, but I need to get more consistent.

Going into this year, the areas I need to work on are playing with more consistency over four quarters. I started a couple of games well and then faded, or started slowly and then worked my way in. Along with that, an increased endurance with base fitness and strength is going to help me be a consistent performer over four quarters.

Working on that defensive side of my game is also really important. Obviously I’ve played a lot on the wing but I’ve got to be able to play that half back role as well and just to be able to pick up the defensive aspects and hold my own in one-on-one contests is going to be really important for me to be able to get a game this year.

LM: What sort of role can we expect to see you playing this year? You’ve had a taste in several areas of the ground, but is there one in particular that you feel you are best suited to?
PS: I played a bit of that wing role coming through and that’s probably where I was best suited and played my junior football, as well as up forward. Now I’ve got that opportunity to go down back, which is really exciting to develop my game even further. It’s a role that I think is going to suit me but I’ve just got to work on that defensive side and have that defensive mentality.

Naturally I guess I’m a fairly attacking player so I’m suited to running off half back but wing is definitely the position that naturally comes to me. There’s space there and I ‘hold my width’ well so being out there gives you the ability to run both forward and back. I’m able to cover defensively and then go forward when we have the ball.

At the moment with my slight frame, wing’s more of an outside position than that of an ‘inside mid’ so hopefully in a few years to come, if I’m still around and I’ve got that weight on I’ll be able to play more of an inside role.

LM: You spent time in that inside mid role in the VFL in the closing stages of 2012. Is that something we can expect to see you doing more often this year?
PS: It was all right. It was against some good players so it was good to get that experience and that’s something that I’d like to do as my body matures and gets bigger and stronger. I’d definitely like to get in the midfield but at the moment I’ve just got to work on my body strength and positioning.

LM: I understand that you have a good relationship with Harry O’Brien. When did that begin, and what sort of advise has he been able to pass on?
PS: In my first year he grabbed me, spoke to me and looked after me. We were kicking partners out on the ground at training and things like that. We just got to know each other there and he took an interest in how I was going in the VFL and he’d always pass on some advice.

remember one chat in particular in the old kitchen when he came up to me and was really positive, saying that “the opportunity’s there”, and stuff like that. It was towards the end of the season in 2011 and I hadn’t played but he really said “this pre-season we’re going to lift it”. So we trained together and he got me at every opportunity in Arizona just to really push me and to take my training to the next level because he sets the standard on the training track with his intensity and his voice. He went out of his way to help me a lot and I really appreciate everything that he did for me.

We started hanging out off the field playing FIFA and things like that so I got to know him on a personal level. He’s just a really good guy.
LM: Having grown up as a Collingwood supporter, did it feel surreal to go from watching players like O’Brien every week as a kid to working and playing alongside them?
PS: I haven’t really thought about that. I tried to put that supporter that was inside of me out as soon as I got here. All the boys used to give me a bit of stick because I knew a lot of things about them. I put the supporter behind and I remember that Derek Hine told me that I’ve got to try to take their positions.

I can admire them and stuff like that, and look at what they do and do what they do, but if you stay star struck then you’re not going to be able to play football around them. If you can’t be mates with them and just recognise that they’re teammates then you’re not going to be able to go anywhere.

LM: Having recently returned from the high altitude training camp in Utah, how did its benefits compare to Arizona? Do you feel particularly stronger now after completing several of these camps?
PS: I feel like I’m in better condition. I’m running well and everything like that as well as getting a bit stronger. Utah was obviously tough, like Arizona was, but I probably preferred Utah. Park City, the area that we stayed in, was really nice. The accommodation made it a lot easier to go back to a good room every day and to have your own privacy in your own room was good when you wanted some down time or if you wanted to have a sleep there were no issues.

Training wise, obviously like every year they lift and they get harder but now having two or three under the belt I definitely feel like I’m going into this season in the best shape that I’ve been in at the club. In terms of strength and fitness, I feel like I’m running the best I have since I’ve been here.

LM: You signed a two-year deal to remain at the club late last year. That must give you a lot of confidence about what’s to come.
PS: It’s nice to have that security but at the same time it doesn’t mean a hell of a lot if I don’t do anything about it. It’s just nice to have that security and faith that the club showed in me. Now I’ve just got to repay it with coming on and being a player.

LM: Many may not realise that you actually did some work experience here as a 16-year-old. Did you make any connections then that have remained in the years since?
PS: It was a good experience and I remember speaking to a few people that are still around. I did the kick ins with Wayne Connor (the club’s Property Manager) at training. I had a kick with Marcus Wagner (the Senior Football Analyst) out on the sprung floor and he actually remembers it. There are a few people that were here back then and still are now. It was back in year 10, so it was good fun just to get around and see how everyone went about. I got to speak to Mick Malthouse and all that. It was a good experience.