Ask top-20 AFL Draft prospect Leo Steed who he models his game on and Zak Butters is one he reels off with a beaming smile on his face.
“I have a soft spot for him, he has a bit of fire and I love the way he goes about it,” Steed told Zero Hanger's Craft of the Draft podcast.
Watch Steed play footy and the Butters comparisons make sense.
He's relentlessly competitive, ultra-tough and wins clearances.
If anything, he has Butters covered because he has shown an ability to push forward and hit the scoreboard.
“I've always been pretty competitive, a bit of white-line fever and short man syndrome,” the 176cm prospect said.
“I don't like taking a backwards step, it's not in my DNA to take a backwards step and be competitive."
The Swan Districts midfielder, who also counts Dylan Moore's work rate and Caleb Serong's clean hands as attributes he models his game on, has been one of the big risers at the Under-18s National Championships.
He averaged 24 disposals and four tackles as a starting midfielder after getting an opportunity at league level to start the season, where he has embraced the physicality and learned to play as a half forward.
Alongside Steed's competitiveness, his ability to cover the ground, burst free and damage with his disposal has been a highlight, with the running power an area he was keen to show he improved after a big pre-season.
“One of my main (goals) was I want to be one of the hardest working players in the country with my endurance running,” Steed said.
“A bit of an area of improvement was probably that speed stuff. I could always evade a player but I wasn't getting those five steps after evading a player…which I was able to work on over the summer with about 15 boys on Saturdays; we would do a sprint session.
“I think that was really beneficial because my high-speed stuff is a lot better now. It's put a lot more confidence in myself.
“I've always been pretty confident but last year I found myself getting mowed down a few more times, this year I feel like I've been able to burst the bubble more which has given me more confidence.”
Steed was voted in as co-captain of the squad alongside Claremont's George Gale and exuded a ‘come with me' mentality throughout the games, providing a spark when his team needed a lift.
He helped the Black Swans overturn a 27-point deficit in the third game, and his absence in the last quarter of the final game against the Allies was telling as Western Australia lacked an energiser to shift momentum.
“He doesn't talk too much out loud but how hard he goes represents his character and his traits towards football and his teammates,” teammate – and roommate - Harper Banfield said of Steed.
“You'd go to war with the guy and his composure with the footy, ability to involve teammates and hit the scoreboard is really impressive.
“When things get tough, he always looks to battle it out and the team responded well to it.”
After growing up in Bunbury, two hours south of Perth, Steed attended Perth's Wesley College in his later secondary school years, initially as a boarder and more recently living with state teammate Axel Walsh, whose mum teaches Steed.
Moving away from home has opened Steed's eyes and has him confident that he could handle a move interstate to pursue his career.
“It wouldn't be a stress at all. I feel like I've already moved out of home so if the opportunity arises anywhere, it wouldn't worry me,” Steed said.
“There's hardship with it as well, but if you stick fat, it's always brighter on the other side so early on in boarding I had homesickness in the first two weeks but after that I didn't look back and it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me.
“I thought I really grew as a person, a lot of confidence and independence came from that, so if you stick fat, things get better.”
Living with Walsh has allowed Steed to form a strong connection with the star 2027 prospect, who has been heavily linked as a potential pre-list option for Tasmania.
“He's my little big brother at the moment. He doesn't have many flaws, he's very down-to-earth, very humble kid,” Steed exclaimed.
“He doesn't like talking about all that Tassie stuff, I've never heard him talk about it once. We're like-minded we can have a bit of a laugh together as well.”
