THIS SEASON Casey Demons key defender Will Collis has enjoyed the best football of his burgeoning career, the 22-year-old continues to improve with every game he plays this season.
“I am loving it, I am playing a lot more this year because I have been in better form,” Collis told Melbourne Media.
“Better form than what I have been in over the last few years.
“I can’t really complain really at the moment.”
In the midst of the best form of his Casey career, Collis puts his outstanding form on the field to a decision he made in regards to the future of his football earlier in the 2019 season.
“I was in the team earlier in the season, got dropped, then came back and being dropped again, I saw it as pretty much as a fork in the road moment,” Collis said.
“I saw it as make or break.
“I asked myself, do I want to keep going in and out of the team, or do I want to make the spot in the team mine.
“I am just trying to play the best football that I can, and it seems to be working for me at the moment.”
Averaging 14.7 disposals in his last three matches since being back in the side, Collis has relished in going up against some of the VFL’s top small forwards in recent weeks and being able to shut them down which is raising his own performance.
“Pretty much every week I am going up against a dangerous small forward,” Collis said.
“But I am happy to put my hand up and take that role on them.
“I feel like it brings out the best in my footy… It allows me to go to another level as well.”
Collis was influential in the Demons recent turn of form in Round 10 against Collingwood, something the defender puts down to the entire team’s performance.
“It was a full four-quarter effort,” Collis said.
“We have been around the mark in a few games.
“But there has been one quarter where we just let opponents get a bit of a jump on us.
“We just played with a full four-quarter effort.”
Collis has been a key contributor to the new look Demons defence this season, becoming one of the trusted voices in the young group of backs who all continue to bond as the season progresses.
“We are all learning off of one another down back,” Collis said.
“Rather than just worrying about my game, I am thinking about what I can do to help others.
“It is more of a leadership role for me this year.”
Now with a few seasons playing within the system, Collis has extended his leadership beyond just the backs group to across the entire team as the squad welcomed new faces in the off-season who have quickly embraced the Casey way.
“We have kept the core group of players from last season, but there are some new blokes to the club who have quickly fit into the team,” Collis said.
“Players like Jay [Lockhart] and Wags [Cory Wagner] are still playing from last year.
“Although they have been drafted to Melbourne now, they still know the system.
“Everyone still knows each other, there is a trust between all of the players, everyone gets along.”
It has been an impressive start to the season for the youngster, granted when he isn’t focused on his job on the football field, Collis is running his own electrician business, but he is enjoying the escape each job provides.
“Starting my own business at the end of the last year,” Collis said.
“It has been good to be flexible with fitting work around footy, it has probably been the best move that I have made for me.”
The renewed focus on his careers is yielding benefits for Collis off of the field, but for Demons fans, it is yielding results on the field as Collis continues to strive towards his goals.
“My goal is to try and play as much VFL footy as I can, I’m trying to take it week by week,” Collis said.
“Then reassess at the end of the year, if I can play more than half of the season, then I would be happy.
“But it doesn’t mean that when I get to that number I will be content with my form.
“I will just keep going.”
Collis continues to grow in his professional careers, and if you need the best electrician in Melbourne then you know who to call, but also if you want a shutdown defender you can rely on Will Collis.
