The tough midfielder from South Australia, Horlin-Smith played three AFL games for Geelong Cats last year and has recently been a stand out during the NAB Cup.
According to Horlin-Smith, the development on field couldn't be achieved without the senior players sharing their wealth of knowledge and expertise. He believes the amount of time they spend with the younger players is invaluable and will certainly help to maintain the future success of the club.
‘’Whilst these senior players are still at the club, I just want to learn as much as I want from them while they‚re still here,’’ Horlin-Smith told SEN Radio this morning.
‘’A lot of these guys are obviously premiership players, played a couple of hundred games, it is invaluable experience for the young guys and they invest a huge amount of time with us, as well as improving our game and ensuring that we still have success in the future.’’
Horlin-Smith has spent a lot of time with key senior players, Joel Corey and Jimmy Bartel. They have both helped him to understand the structures of the game and develop key skills on field.
‘’(They) have both been really good for me over the last few months, with my understanding of the game-plan and the way they've grown as footballers since they first came to the club," Horlin-Smith said.
‘’I’d like to emulate some of their attributes but whether that would be to become the same player as them I’m not too sure. The way the game is going these days you have to be able to play in multiple positions, with the rotations and that sort of stuff.’’
‘’Hopefully I can grab some bits and pieces from the players and make my own way.’’
Horlin-Smith realises that it takes time and hard work to eventually put in to practice what you have learnt during training out on the field.
"It can be pretty complex and take some time to grasp. I think the hardest part is that you can understand it in a meeting room or one-on-one with a coach, but for it to become second nature out on the ground is the hardest thing and can take some time," Horlin-Smith explained.
‘’But the players around you tend to direct you a lot and it certainly helps, getting you in to the right positions and making sure that you‚re setting up well.’’
Along with the support of the senior players, Horlin Smith is really grateful to have a coach like, Chris Scott, who is in constant communication with the younger players about their current game performance and future goals.
‘’Scotty is a really good communicator and he's right across where we are now and where we want to be in the future,’’ Horlin-Smith said.
‘’He’s really good at identifying areas that you need to improve on.’’
The effort in which the club coaches and staff go to have already revealed positive results, and Horlin-Smith believes that is why the club should be able to maintain its success.
"We are confident we're not going to slide, but I think Scotty and the coaching staff have done a huge amount of planning ahead, whether that be for 2015 and 2016, to ensure the group maintains successful,’’ Horlin-Smith said.
"But we hope that's the case this year. We have had a good pre-season and are starting to find some form."
Horlin-Smith acknowledges that the competition has balanced out over the years, however he believes a tight challenge is healthy for the future of the game.
‘’I think all teams are starting to become really equal, the competition is quite close hopefully it maintains that way, I think it's really healthy for the competition, all teams are now pretty similar, a lot of games were really close last year, and hopefully they are this year as well.’’
Despite the hurdles that lie ahead for the Cat's, especially in the first few rounds of the season, Horlin-Smith is confident that their preseason training has prepared them well for 2013.
‘’We do have a tough four rounds so it was really important for us in the NAB Cup to make sure that we start the season well,’’ Horlin-Smith said.
‘’NAB Cup was a good platform for us to try and implement those game-plans correctly and it also gives a bit of experience to some of the younger players.’’
