Rodan has done the legwork
The Age
December 4, 2005
David Rodan can't wait to play again for Richmond, Samantha Lane writes.FOR someone so recognisable on the football field, David Rodan, the nuggety 84-kilogram, 171-centimetre Fijian-born onballer, was as good as invisible this year.
It is not yet 12 months since Rodan ruptured his left anterior cruciate ligament at a pre-season practice game at Morwell, but given so much has changed at Richmond since, it is no surprise he hasn't really felt part of it.
He is yet to play a serious match for Terry Wallace or be led on-field by Kane Johnson. And for a 22-year-old who has yet to arrive at senior level, that has brought about some unnerving sensations — not least because his contract was due to expire before he was could add to his tally of 60 games.
Before his accident, Rodan felt he had impressed the Tigers' new coaches with his work over the pre-season, which followed a difficult 2004. But in the many quiet hours he has spent rehabilitating his leg, he has pondered whether his diligence would count for anything.
In his first two seasons since his 2002 debut, Rodan was a welcome addition to the Tiger forward line, endearing himself to supporters with his pace and spark.
What he lacked in height, he made up for with determination and a healthy dose of flair.
He found the going much tougher when Richmond's form dipped in 2004 and was dropped before regaining his spot in the second half of the season. When Wallace arrived and cut players, he did not think were up to the grade, Rodan survived, but just when he wanted to prove himself to the new regime, he was suddenly incapacitated.
"Since Terry and the other coaches have been here, I've felt a bit empty. I've done training and all that sort of stuff with them, but I haven't showed them (my capabilities) during games," he said.
"It came up in my mind a few times, whether he (Wallace) rates me or not.
"I only had the pre-season to work with him and I didn't really get to show him what I could do. I think that's what made me a bit nervous also. Brian Royal was a new coach, David King, all these new guys had come in and I hadn't really shown them what I could do yet.
"But he's spoken to me a few times and he's made me feel comfortable and made me feel like I'm wanted in the group, which is good."
An extended period of contract negotiation prompted Rodan to ask about being traded, but ended with him accepting a performance-based, two-year deal. Rodan said he always wanted to stay at Punt Road.
He could have resumed playing before season's end, but the coaching panel was cautious and decided to let him rest.
Rather than retreating to the gym, Rodan said he was "heavily involved" with the side over the entire year and occasionally sat in the coach's box.
"Being away and not really playing and being involved that way, I needed to be involved in other ways … I was pretty much afraid that if you do a long-term injury, I think the big thing is that you don't want to be put in the backdrop and forgotten about. I think that's what worried me a bit," Rodan said.
While Danny Frawley used him mostly as a small forward, Wallace intends to play Rodan in the midfield alongside Johnson, Mark Coughlan, Brett Deledio and Shane Tuck. Rodan played a lot of his junior footy there and has kept a close eye on the methods of Fremantle captain Peter Bell this year.
Rodan only resumed full competitive work recently, but after some initial timidness is now attacking contact drills more confidently.
"When I'm running and when I'm out there training and doing everything, or doing weights, it just feels like my other knee. It feels fine," he said.
When his seemingly endless pre-season eventually ends, Rodan knows it's no given that he will command a weekly spot. But he at least has been encouraged by the fact that the memories of his Richmond masters are not so limited that they have judged him simply on the club's lamentable 2004 season or Rodan's lost 2005.
"So I'm hoping that next year, by the start of round one, and hopefully throughout the year, that I can show Terry and the playing group, especially with the new guys that have come, too, that I deserve to be out there," Rodan said.
"I think every player wants to show his coach that he can play and get out there and do the things that he knows he can do. And probably a bit more."
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2005/12/03/1133422149154.html
