Collins eyes senior berth
http://bendigo.yourguide.com.au/news/sport/general/collins-eyes-senior-berth/1177358.htmlAFTER a frustrating debut season with Richmond severely interrupted by injury, former Bendigo Pioneer Andrew Collins now has full confidence that his body won’t let him down again this year.
Collins was restricted to just three games for Richmond’s VFL affiliate Coburg last year as he was hampered by persistent groin problems.
But with the injury woes of last year behind him, Collins, who was drafted by Richmond with selection 73 in 2006, is now looking ahead to this season with the Tigers and determined to do all he can to achieve his goal of making his AFL debut.
‘‘The body is good; I’m about where I want to be at the moment,’’ Collins said in Echuca at Richmond’s community camp yesterday.
‘‘I’m going to play about three quarters of the intra-club match (today at Moama), I’ve had two little hit-outs before that and I’ve been training fully for the past four weeks now, so it has been good.
‘‘It was a frustrating year last year, but I have got through that now and it just makes you enjoy normal football training and being able to do everything with the boys.’’
Collins, a former Sandhurst junior, described his first season at Punt Road as a ‘‘nothing year’’ as he was unable to shake the effects of his troublesome groin.
However, he says it wasn’t all negative and he was able to take some positives that will make him a better player out of a year in which Richmond finished on the bottom of the ladder.
‘‘I got to hurt a bit when we were losing, which was good for me I reckon, so it wasn’t all negative out of an injury-riddled year,’’ he said.
‘‘And being stuck on the sidelines made me realise just how much I love playing football.’’
While Collins, 19, is pleased with how his build-up to the 2008 season is progressing, he admits he’s facing an uphill battle to be selected in the Tigers’ team for next week’s opening NAB Cup match against St Kilda at the Telstra Dome.
He will get the chance to stake his claim for a spot in the side when he plays in today’s intra-club match at Moama from 4 pm.
‘‘Probably without playing full games of footy I wouldn’t be in the mix for next week, but you never say never because if you play well enough (in the intra-club match) you may come into contention,’’ Collins said.
‘‘I reckon maybe later on in the NAB Cup I will be more thinking about it.
‘‘I’m very confident in my body now, so I want to go out in this last intra-club match and get a few kicks and have a good hit-out.
‘‘Obviously, I want to play senior footy this year, and whether it’s round one or further into the season, I just want to get some good continuity into my footy and play full games week in, week out.
‘‘I think I will get my chance once I put the form on the board.’’
