With only six weeks to go until the season starts, strong marking and hard-working forward Peter McEvoy has been doing everything he can in order to be ready for round one.
Spending the last 9 months recovering from a broken leg he suffered in round 10 last year, McEvoy feels while it may have been a longer road than he first thought, he is certainly on track for this season.
“It’s always a challenging thing to go through a long recovery, but it’s been great to get back into full training and I can’t wait to start playing games,” he said.
“I’m really excited about the group that we’ve got and the work we have done; I want to see us win games and grow the successful culture of this club.” McEvoy continued.
Spending most of his preseason training with the rehabilitation group, going back to training with the full group has helped his confidence in getting back to the best player he can be.
Kicking 16 goals in the 10 games he managed to play last year, McEvoy was definitely disappointed to break his leg during a time he felt was some of the best VFL football that he’s played:
“Some of my leadership could’ve been better, but from a personal perspective I felt like I was playing good footy; I kicked goals in every game and was doing really well as far as contested marks go,” he recalled on his impact last season.
“I guess sitting on the side and feeling a bit helpless; I don’t think there’s any footballer that enjoys that.”
Wishing he could’ve been out there alongside his teammates, McEvoy certainly learnt some new insights from his time on the sideline.
“I saw the importance of some of the leadership aspects that I brought to our forward line, that I didn’t realise I was necessarily doing,” he says.
“The importance of communication (in the forward line) and the way we set up as well probably slipped away a fair bit after I left, and obviously I couldn’t play because I was injured.” McEvoy continued.
“It was pretty hard to see, but at the same time I learnt a lot about what’s needed.”
This year, McEvoy hopes to bring some of those insights to his game and help his team mates push each other into being at the best level they can be.
With players like Christian Burgess, Nick Dodge and Tom Wallis all impressing out on the track so far, the bit of experience and class they have added to the team is an exciting prospect to McEvoy.
“We all have different stories and backgrounds, but we’re heading in the same direction and driving each other so hard to succeed,” he said when asked about the new talent coming through at the club.
According to McEvoy, while the preseason may start off with a timid and quiet group, the closer round one becomes the closer the boys also become; ready for the challenge that awaits.
“You really start to grow together as a group and it’s so important to have that trust in each other during the season, especially when things get a bit tough.”
The Coburg Lions will play the first of three practice matches on Saturday 25th March, with round one of the 2017 season set to kick off at 2:40pm on Saturday 15th April at Piranha Park. For more information visit coburgfc.com.au/fixtures, and keep an eye on our website for any announcements.
