DESPITE being known for having a beautiful left foot kick, James Strauss says it’s an area of his game he continually works on.

The 22 year-old was regarded as one of the standout kicks of his draft year when he came to Melbourne in November 2008.

And despite suffering a terrible broken leg in the latter part of the 2011 season, Strauss said it hadn’t affected his kicking. 

“It’s still fine. I broke my left leg, so it’s my balance leg. I’ve built up all my strength in my calves, glutes, hamstrings and quads, so I’ve got no problems with it,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“I’ve just got to keep working at it, because you need it in today’s game. If you don’t keep working on it, it can fall away pretty quickly.

“Even in the two weeks we had off over Christmas, if you don’t keep kicking the footy, it can drop off, so you’ve just got to make sure you keep touching it all the time.”

The rebounding defender said he was itching to make that position his own in 2013, providing plenty of attack through the midfield and into the forward 50.

“I love rebounding off the half-back line and using my kick, so hopefully that’s the spot [for me],” he said.

“I’d also like to push up on the wing - that’d be good too.

“One of those two spots would be great, but I know I have to work hard because it’ll be tight for spots this year.”