Hurt Prospect’s Comeback Mindset Has Recruiters Still Circling

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Footy’s a funny game, isn’t it? One minute you’re the bloke everyone’s talking about, next minute you’re watching from the outer with ice on something. That’s exactly where this South Adelaide prospect finds himself heading into draft season, and funnily enough, it might be the making of him.

Carn the Pies, obviously, but even a diehard Collingwood tragic like me can appreciate a good comeback story when I see one. And this kid’s story is shaping as one of the more interesting subplots of this year’s draft crop.

Out of the side, not out of mind

He’s been missing from South Adelaide’s side for weeks now. Injury’s kept him out, and in a draft year that’s about the worst timing you can get. Every week on the sidelines is a week recruiters don’t get to see you running, tackling, hitting the scoreboard.

But here’s the thing. Clubs aren’t silly. They’ve got the vision from earlier in the year. They’ve got the character assessments. And from what I’m hearing, this bloke’s attitude through the injury has been noticed just as much as his form before it.

Should of been a lock for a bag of touches every week this year if he’d stayed fit, by all reports. Instead he’s had to sit, watch, and wait. Not easy for a teenager with AFL dreams and a clock ticking.