Heath Hocking says he’s felt like a ‘kid in a candy shop’ in recent days as the midfielder returns to pre-season training.
The returning players and the Club’s first to fourth year players commenced their pre-season schedule last week, with the rest of the group set to return on Monday.
Hocking said getting back into the AFL routine had been an enjoyable experience.
“It has been fantastic … a kid in a candy shop … after having so much time off, it has been nice,” Hocking said.
“It obviously takes a little while for the lungs to catch up but just being among the boys, enjoying their company, training and learning football again.
“We had ten or so players outside of this that were training and it was good but it’s definitely not like having 40 blokes at the Club and the shenanigans in the locker room, having meetings and catching up with the boys.
“It has been fantastic.”
Hocking was the first player to reaffirm his commitment to the Club when he signed a new deal in April.
“It was a no-brainer for me, growing up barracking for Essendon and then getting to play for Essendon,” he said.
“I can’t ask any more of the fans – they’ve been fantastic.
“As soon as I announced it, it was met with a lot of congratulations from everyone and I couldn’t have asked for more.”
After missing just one game in 2014, Hocking was restricted to five games in 2015 as groin troubles disrupted his campaign.
“It was a bit of a blessing in disguise having the time off,” Hocking said.
“I got time to look after the groins and get my shoulder right.
“At the moment we’re flying with the injuries but we’ll just make sure we look after them and keep on top of things.”
In the lead up to the start of the pre-season, Hocking joined teammates Orazio Fantasia, Zach Merrett and Joe Daniher in the United States.
The quartet visited and trained at some of the country’s elite sporting facilities, but Hocking also gained an insight into his younger teammates development.
“For me it was just tagging along to see these young, up and coming leaders of our footy Club and how they go about playing,” Hocking said.
“I actually learnt a lot from them. There is always something to work on and they pushed me along which was really good and that was something I needed after having so long out of football.”
The return of Hocking will add a hard edge to an Essendon midfield that was missing some of its best-contested ball winners throughout 2016.
“There were some exciting young players going through there, but I still think there is room for a hard nosed midfielder,” Hocking joked.
“I had a break in the middle part of the year where I went away and forgot about footy for a bit.
“But I probably watched more footy this year than I had for the last three or four years so it was nice to come and watch the boys and just watch footy in general.
“But it was definitely good to see the development of Darcy Parish, Zach Merrett obviously had a fantastic season - so it’s an exciting time and I’m just looking forward to being a part of it.”
