ALL-AUSTRALIAN defender Tom Stewart is striving to take his game to an even higher level than his breakout 2018 season.

Assistant coach Nigel Lappin told the Geelong Advertiser that the third-year Cat is constantly striving to better himself.

“It comes with maturity and he (Stewart) has only been in the system for a very short time but he is a very driven person,” Lappin said.

He knows what life is like on the other side out in the workforce and he really wants to take his opportunity. - Lappin on Stewart

Lappin says despite the heights Stewart reached in just his second season of AFL football, the versatile defender was still hungry to do better.

“There were a few things that he wanted to achieve last year that he didn’t quite achieve,” Lappin said.

“The All-Australian was one (that he did), but he would have liked to finish a little higher in the best-and-fairest, and that is just the type of person he is.

“Tom is super competitive, and he wants to improve and he drives the standards in this place. He is a pretty smart guy in terms of his football knowledge, but the way the he leads best is through his actions and his intent at training.

“He does everything professionally and when he has to put his body on the line, whether that is in a running test or physically, he is more than capable of doing that.”