HE MAY not have the flair of Allen Jakovich or the imposing hulk of David Neitz, but the man Melbourne has earmarked at full-forward for 2009 – Matthew Bate – has all the ingredients of the modern-day footballer.

The 191cm tall is entering his fifth AFL-listed season with the Demons and is more than likely to settle up forward this year, having played in a variety of positions during his 48 matches since 2004.

Last Saturday, during Melbourne's NAB Cup opener against Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium, Bate booted four goals and was a significant contributor up forward.

"All pre-season the forwards have been working hard on leading patterns and they've been working together. We did that well on the weekend," Bate told melbournefc.com.au.

"That helped me coming out of the goalsquare and I was able to get a bit of space. I thought all of the forwards worked really hard and for each other. I was able to get a reward and kick some goals, which was good.

"Every forward line player will get the chance to kick goals, but I was just the lucky one this week, because we all worked together well."
 
Bate said he was looking forward to spending more time at full-forward in 2009, a position he played with the Eastern Ranges in the TAC Cup.

"I've been playing out of the goalsquare over the pre-season and I'll definitely be playing there more. I'll be playing there more than last year," he said.

"I feel comfortable playing there. It can be a really easy or hard position to play. If the forward line is not working well together, it's hard to find space and it can be tough. But if we keep playing like we did on the weekend, it's going to be really enjoyable.

"Getting on the lead and kicking some goals is definitely fun and it's a challenge, because you're a focal point and there is some pressure on you to deliver and lead by example. But I'm definitely looking forward to the challenge," he said.

"My major strengths are getting it on the lead, using my pace and working on tactics, such as pushing off opponents and working on multiple leads.

"If you can focus on them and do them right, then full-forward becomes a much easier position than if you're just standing there and not reading."

Bate explained that Melbourne is still planning a flexible forward line this season.

"There are a lot of players that can play out of the goalsquare. Brad Miller and Col Sylvia can play there, so we're going to keep it rotating, depending on what team we're playing and what players we're playing on," he said.

"Being flexible makes us more dangerous, so there will be a lot of rotating."

Overall, Bate has been delighted with his pre-season.

"I haven't had any injuries throughout the whole pre-season, which is really good and a big difference to last year," he said.

"Last year I felt like I was doing a soft-tissue injury every few weeks, so it's good to have a good fitness base. I've been doing a lot of work in the gym with our strength coach Valeri [Stoimenov].

"The big difference has been strengthening my legs, so I've had big improvements in my quads, pulls and hang cleans and I can really feel the difference out on the ground with my running, so that's been a major difference.

"That extra strength in my legs has helped my hamstrings and groins, so hopefully my run will continue."