But despite recent praise from Werribee coach Scott West, the 19-year old is keeping a level head, acknowledging he has plenty to improve on.
“I’m not quite there yet, still a fair way off,” Wood said matter-of-factly.
“It was the first full game I’ve got through which is good. I certainly feel bigger and stronger and my GPS results are showing I’m running further and quicker and that sort of thing which is encouraging.
“The intensity is definitely up at VFL level from what you play at Under 18s, the contested footy is a huge step up as well. I’ll begin to settle in more over time and getting more of the footy will be really helpful for me.”
Noticeably strong overhead, Wood has been taking some impressive grabs and wants to continue presenting as strong target as well as increasing his efficiency up forward.
“It definitely doesn’t come naturally for me, it’s something I continually have to work on and if I don’t practice it, I won’t be able to take an overhead mark at all.
“On the lead I’ve always been okay when I can get free but that one-on-one for a long kick down the line or deep into the forward line is always something I have to work on.”
Soaking up knowledge from tall forwards Drew Petrie, Robbie Tarrant and Lachie Hansen has been a big part of Wood’s growth as a player so far and he wants to gain as much knowledge as he can.
“I’ve been working a lot with those guys on contested marking and body work,” Wood explained.
“I’m probably not going to be the sort of player that they are, the big full forward type, but getting tips off them about positioning and that is really helpful because they were all in my position once upon a time.”
“Robbie Tarrant is a player I probably want to model my game off. His kind of running, getting a lot of the ball up the ground is what I’m after and how I want to play. He’s been really good for me.”
