Luckless former Tiger Nathan Drummond will suit up for Footscray in the VFL in 2019, hoping an injury-free season will lead him back to an AFL club.
The 23-year-old will start pre-season with the Bulldogs this week after signing a one-year contract with the club following his delisting from Richmond last month.
Drummond knew in late July he was unlikely to be at Richmond beyond this season.
Coach Damien Hardwick had bluntly told him he needed to play – and play well – towards the season's end to earn a new deal.
Two days after their chat, Drummond suffered another hamstring injury at training and the surgery to repair a hole in his tendon was ordered.
His season was over, as was his career in the yellow and black.
He could have walked away then, but his pride meant he kept training with the players as they geared up for finals.
"I wanted to maintain a professional approach, rather than sulking and thinking it was the end," he said.
"I wanted to keep a positive mindset of trying to get something out of that last two months even though I wasn't playing.
"I'm not that sort of person [to walk away]. I've always been pretty professional with the way I've gone about it and I never wanted to leave on bad terms either."
Drummond travelled to Thailand for the Tigers' end of season trip, despite admitting it was tough to accept he wouldn't be returning to start pre-season with them.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-11-21/luckless-former-tiger-drummond-hopes-vfl-path-leads-back-to-lifeline
