CARLTON'S Kade Simpson is set to reach the 100-game milestone in 2009 and it's just reward for a hard-working midfielder who had to fight tooth and nail to establish himself as a senior player.

While his talent was undoubted early in his career there were plenty of question marks over the lightly-framed player's ability to withstand the rigours of AFL football on a regular basis.

Entering his seventh season at the highest level, Simpson still isn't going to win any body-building contests, but he's comfortable with what he's been able to achieve in the gym. 

"I'm still pretty small when you look at some of the other guys, but my body can at least cope with the game a bit better than early on," Simpson says.

"It was pretty tough early. I'm probably following in 'Skinny' Lappin's footsteps a bit; it doesn't matter how many weights I do it's just hard to put on any weight. I wouldn't mind putting on another kilo or two and playing at around 77 or 78 kg, but I'm comfortable at 75; it doesn't faze me too much any more.

"The game has changed a lot since I first started, but you still need that little bit of size. I'm pretty comfortable with where I've managed to get to."

And why not?

The 24-year-old has now played 87 games and is coming off one of his best seasons in the navy Blue that saw him play in every game and average 19 possessions per week.

Simpson's year was capped with another top-five finish in the John Nicholls Medal and a spot in the Australian side for the International Rules series in which he was named his country's best player.

"To represent your country is a massive honour and it was good to meet a lot of those guys and see how they go about their football," Simpson recalls.

"It's just good to mix with players from other clubs because you don't often get the chance to do that and it is interesting because most clubs take a different approach. I got to spend time with some of the best athletes in our game and it was fascinating to be able to watch them do their stuff."

He admits the extra two weeks of physical activity did take a bit of a toll, but time off to travel to Germany and Thailand with his girlfriend and careful management by the club have him raring to go in 2009.

The competition for a regular spot in the Blues' midfield is more intense than it has been in years, which Simpson maintains can only help push the team further next season.

The former Eastern Ranges product has developed his game to the point where he can play several roles across the ground – and that's just how he likes it.

"I sort of had a few different roles last year. I played across half-forward, half-back, on a wing and in the midfield," he explains.

"I don't mind being thrown around a bit and Ratts has said that I'll probably be playing a similar sort of role again next season. I'm looking forward to it; it's a good challenge, but to get a kick in that midfield now is pretty tough.

"I actually enjoy being that type of player though. If I'm not getting a kick up forward I can go back and try to get involved or just do a defensive job and try to beat my man or go through the middle for a spell. I like to be able to provide that sort of flexibility; it's a good role for me."

Carlton's resurgence in 2008 has stoked the fires of expectation among the Blues' faithful, but Simpson says the players must guard against getting too caught up in the off-field hype.

"We've still got a long way to go," he says.

"Obviously we improved last year, but it was still disappointing not to make it into the finals. I mean, we won some good games and we lost a couple of close ones, but we've got to keep working at it and make sure that we don't have to make those big last-quarter runs by playing four quarters of footy.

"You need to do that every week if you want to be guaranteed of playing finals and that's one area I'd like to think we'll get a lot better at that as a group next season."