When I was fortunate enough to be drafted by Carlton in 2005, there was a fair bit of expectation on me. And then to suffer a shoulder injury in my first year only added to that.
On top of that, we had some pretty tough times at the club in my first two seasons, which only added to the scrutiny.
But even then, I always knew the club would turn around, particularly as we already had a host of young players coming though and Brendan Fevola up forward. Add to that the recruitment of Chris Judd from the West Coast Eagles and we're now winning more games than we lose.
There’s no doubt the first two years at the club were a tough initiation, but it's been a much better environment to be around now that we are winning and making progress.
In my first year, I played the opening 13 rounds, before injuring my shoulder against the Brisbane Lions. It was my first major football injury, so it was a bit of a shock at the time. I had surgery on my shoulder and missed the rest of the season.
Initially, I was pretty nervous when I came back from the injury. The uncertainty of how it would fare played a part in it. At the time I thought: ‘What will happen when I get tackled?’ Things like that played on my mind.
Still, I knew I had done the work in the pre-season and when I competed in wrestling and tackling drills I did gain confidence in my shoulder.
But I also knew it was up to chance and luck played a part in how it would hold up.
Fortunately, I haven't missed a game since. I returned for the opening round of the 2007 season and have now played 60 matches in a row, even though – like every player – you carry a niggle into every match.
To play that many consecutive matches, you must leave no stone unturned in you preparation and make sure if anything does pop up, it doesn't linger. At this time of the year, it's crucial to stay on top of any niggle, so it doesn't hold you back.
In the pre-season just gone, I had a few sore spots that could've turned into something worse had I not got on top of them early. And that's where the medical and fitness staff has also helped enormously.
So far I've got through 16 rounds and hopefully I'll get through the next six – although I hope there are at least seven or eight matches for the Blues this year.
Playing finals is still our long-term aim this year. The way to achieve that is by achieving our short-term goals and that’s the week-to-week challenge. I also have some individual goals I want to achieve. This season I set myself a target of averaging a goal a game and so far I've kicked 19, so I need to keep that going.
The most dangerous midfielders in the competition are the ones who kick goals. And becoming an all-round footballer – helping out in defence and not just being an attacking midfielder – is what the game demands now.
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Watch three classic Carlton/Collingwood matches and vote for your favourite here, and hit afl.com.au/rivalryround to check out the prizes and special offers available to all footy fans this Rivalry Round.
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The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
