ZACH Reid jokes that it feels like he has had three AFL debuts. 

There was the Essendon defender's actual first game against Brisbane as a 19-year-old in 2021. But then there were two more pseudo firsts – against Hawthorn in round one last year and again facing the Hawks in round one this year – both after long injury lay-offs. 

"Each one I've been so nervous it's felt like a first game every time," Reid told AFL.com.au this week.

That tension is starting to wear off. After the first four years of his career were cruelled by different battles with his body – illness, foot, back, hamstring and pectoral problems – the young Bomber is injury free and making up for lost time.  

And there's been plenty of time lost. Reid's real debut came at a rain-soaked Gabba when he was tasked with facing Lions star Joe Daniher, who was playing against his former team for the first time. Reid felt crook leading into the game but wasn't going to give up his spot.

"I had what I thought was a cold, but I had been picked for my first game so I thought 'I'm not pulling out here'. We flew up there and it was torrential rain and got through the game, but that week went downhill badly. Playing was probably the worst thing in hindsight because it wrecked me," he said.

"I had glandular fever and was bedridden for three weeks or so and then took another five weeks or so to build up again."

When he did, he started to feel sore in his back, with scans showing he had developed a stress fracture. The diagnosis was about six months of rehab. Before then, Reid had never had any back issues but jumping into an AFL program after the COVID wipeout of his 2020 draft year was difficult and too much for his body. 

He managed to return for seven games in his second year of 2022, with hopes rising he was past the injury problems, having overcome a foot issue. He had rejoined pre-season training with his teammates at the end of that year when a familiar ache in Reid's back appeared.  

He had suffered a repeat back stress fracture and would not only miss all of Essendon's pre-season but also the start of the 2023 campaign. It was what Reid now describes as the lowest he has felt about his future in the game. 

"It was in the exact same spot. I'd just done a big, six-month rehab and I felt good. Then to have a recurrence, in the moment it feels like you've wasted six months of your career," he said.

The Bombers searched for solutions, as did Reid. He learned things he never wished to know, about the danger zone for growing, tall athletes. About skeletal systems and how they develop. About strengthening hips and glutes, biomechanics, refining running tilts and a whole other set of medical terminologies. He also learned about resilience, patience and positivity. 

"It was definitely challenging. I was pick 10 and when you get drafted high you think it's all going to go well for you. Especially coming off a junior career where I didn't have injuries, I thought 'This is going to be good' and then it hits you and it keeps banking," he said.

"I always say you have to get through that hard part of the first five weeks after an injury and once your body is used to it you'll be fine. But I'd get to that period then have a setback, or I'd get close to playing then I wouldn't. 

"It's hard mentally. If you attach your wellbeing and your happiness to you playing footy, you can have some dips with your wellbeing. When I was younger I was all football so when I was not playing, things are hard and when I was playing, I was happy. 

"As I got older and had more injuries, I realised I had to jump off that rollercoaster and find some stuff I like doing outside of footy and stuff to focus on so you can still be disciplined and tick your rehab off, but it's not the be all and end all."

And so he dabbled in university, starting a sports science degree but stopping after realising he was living it through his injuries and pivoting to a property and real estate course. He concedes the repeated back injuries had him questioning whether his body could withstand the game's rigours.  

"That's when you start thinking – do I have the body for the AFL? Am I ever going to break through these injury woes and get out there consistently? The other hard part about injury is you're not doing the same training as everyone else so you're not improving as much as everyone else," he said.

"You start thinking 'Am I too much behind the eight-ball? Am I ever going to break through?' I definitely had those thoughts. But I don't think I ever really considered properly, deep down, that I would ever give it up. That's just not in me to do that. I was always going to keep backing up and my parents helped me with that."

The setbacks kept coming, but they were met differently. He didn't play a senior game in 2023 whilst restricted by hamstring injuries, tearing the muscle at the 'T-junction', which led to its own mental battle and worries of recurrence. 

Reid hoped he had gotten through those times in the lead up to the start of the 2024 season, and for the first time at the club played in round one against Hawthorn. But that lasted less than a half, as he went down with the strain. He returned in the VFL around mid-year but then tore his pectoral muscle and underwent surgery. He smiles now that despite enduring such a painful injury, it was better than an alternative. 

"When I did it, I was like 'You're kidding'. But after all the dust settled, it was like 'It's a one-off, freak accident, I'd rather this than a 12-week hammy'. Albeit being terrible, it was definitely better than doing a hammy," he said. 

He and teammate Jordan Ridley (quad) headed to Qatar to the world-renowned Aspetar orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital in the off-season last year to help solve their soft-tissue problems, and both came back stronger and more informed about their bodies. 

The time on the sidelines gave Reid extra chances to develop other parts of his game. He studies opposition key defenders closely, like Melbourne's Steven May and Collingwood's Darcy Moore, and was rewatching Harris Andrews' battle with Sam Darcy from Gather Round before speaking with AFL.com.au at Essendon's headquarters.

The work is starting to pay off. With four AFL games in a row, plus his two performances in the practice matches, Reid is growing in confidence in Essendon's backline. His performance in halting Mitch Georgiades in round four was excellent, and last week he gathered a career-best 21 disposals against the Demons. He, Ridley and Ben McKay are finally getting games together as a deep backs trio, and he is backed internally to use his sound judgment and foot skills to deliver the ball. 

"In the first two rounds I missed a few kicks and got a few chopped off because I wasn't used to the speed of guys closing space down. The Wizard (Nick Watson) got me. He came out of nowhere, I could have baulked him," he said. "But it's the best continuity I've had for a while and it's been good to have been playing so consistently. Hopefully I can have a consistent year and prove what everyone thought when I got picked at 10." 

"I was 82 kilos when I got drafted at 200cm and that's very light (he most recently measured in at 204cm). It's taken me four years to build up but I feel really confident in my body at the moment." 

He credits his parents and brothers for their support during the hardest and harshest injury times, with Friday's clash against West Coast looming as a memorable family occasion. It will be the first time that Reid and younger brother Archer have ever played on the same field – let alone as opponents. Archer is making his way as a tall forward/ruckman at the Eagles and the pair look certain to match up against each other at some stage.

"He's enjoying it in Perth. I think he's holding his own pretty well," Reid said. "It'll be funny this week and it'll be good for my parents, who have been over in Perth all week already after they were in Adelaide." 

Reid was one of the Bombers' three consecutive top 10 picks in 2020, behind Nik Cox and Archie Perkins. Cox has played 53 games and Perkins has been a fixture of the team, playing 83 of a possible 96 Essendon games since his debut. This week will be Reid's 14th appearance in his fifth season. 

"I feel like I've accepted it now. I would love to have played 80 games like Arch, but everyone has their own journey and are on their own path and I've built up a lot of resilience over the past four years that will hold me in good stead for the rest of my life," he said.

"And I'm still 23, I've got a lot of future in me, so I'm excited for that. I've moved on and accepted what's happened in the last four years but I'm keen to get after it."