{"id":353706,"date":"2023-12-13T10:18:09","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T11:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=353706"},"modified":"2023-12-14T01:01:55","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T01:01:55","slug":"saint-who-hasnt-missed-a-session-eyeing-shock-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=353706","title":{"rendered":"Saint who 'hasn't missed a session' eyeing shock return"},"content":{"rendered":"

St Kilda<\/a> coach Ross Lyon<\/a> believes veteran Tim Membrey<\/a> is back to his fighting best, as he returns after withdrawing from the club's elimination final loss against the Giants<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lyon confirmed the 29-year-old has dropped four kilograms\ufeff and "hasn't missed a session" during the pre season, after be absent from a large chunk of the 2023 season due to multiple injuries.<\/p>\n

"He's in really good shape; he's blossoming, he feels good, and he's got a lot of support," Lyon said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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"He's four kilos lighter and back to his fighting weight, so to speak, with what he's been in previous years."<\/p>\n

Lyon also expressed a lighter feel around Membrey's expected role within the team, saying his return \ufeffhas been thrilling for the entire club.<\/p>\n

\"Tim<\/p>\n

"I think that's the beauty and there's no stigma. It's more complicated than it just seems, so we're thrilled with where he's at," Lyon said.<\/p>\n

"We're really expecting that he can deliver. He's been a real leader here for a long time."<\/p>\n

Meantime, key forward Max King is also striding back into training as he returns from a shoulder injury that\ufeff restricted him to just 11 games in 2023.<\/a><\/p>\n

The young power forward will team up properly with Membrey in 2024, with Lyon placing big expectations on what the dynamic duo can present on field while also coming to the aid of younger players.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/9NewsMelb\/status\/1701157047696306228?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1701157047696306228%7Ctwgr%5Ed344911d09d45a8da81f15bd38f2691929f19628%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwwos.nine.com.au%2Fafl%2Fnews-2023-caroline-wilson-praises-st-kilda-for-tim-membrey-health-management%2F54e21053-552b-49e9-bf7e-63b6a9a7a565<\/a><\/p>\n

"Our two power forwards (Membrey and King) basically didn't play (last season), so I think (Anthony) Caminiti and (Mitch) Owens will look forward to playing with them," Lyon said.<\/p>\n

Despite the positivity surrounding Membrey's comeback, he was not on the training track at Moorabbin on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The Saints coach however was quick to shut down rumours of more injuries.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"As you get older you get wear and tear, so (Membrey's) managed today, but he basically hasn't missed a session," Lyon said.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"MELBOURNE,<\/p>\n

As for what 2024 could hold for the Saints, who currently have the league's longest premiership drought (57 years)\ufeff, Lyon declared the side is finally mostly injury free.<\/p>\n

"Last season there was really no (Zak) Jones, no Membrey, what Max (King) did off no work was incredible; (he) basically played 10 games, kicked 33 goals," he said.<\/p>\n

"So we think there is some real upside in those guys, and we expect our younger players to continue to improve. (Marcus) Windhager really found his spot at half-back last year. We want to build around them."<\/p>\n

St Kilda will face Geelong in round one of the 2024 season, as the Cats unveiled their new Joel Selwood Stand at GMHBA Stadium.\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon believes veteran Tim Membrey is back to his fighting best, as he returns after withdrawing from the club's elimination final […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":353708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353706"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=353706"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":353710,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353706\/revisions\/353710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/353708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=353706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=353706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=353706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}