Star forward Joe Daniher has made an early return to the pre-season and says he is proud of the way both he and Essendon handled a challenging trade period.
Daniher requested a trade to Sydney but a deal couldn’t be reached, seeing him held to his contract at the Bombers.
Aware of his contracted status, he said he knew it wouldn’t be easy for the clubs to strike a deal and he has returned to The Hangar in good spirits.
“I did ask for a trade to the Sydney Swans Football Club, but I had really good dialogue with Essendon right through the situation,” Daniher said on Thursday morning.
“Knowing that I was a contracted player, I did have the knowledge that it was going to be a difficult thing to get done.
“I’m very proud of the way the club handled it and proud of the way I’ve handled it. That honesty throughout the situation was really beneficial for me now coming back to the football club and I’m ready to get back and stuck into it.”
The 25-year-old said coming back to Essendon on Thursday had been made easier by the constant support of those at the club.
“The support has been amazing, before I left and whilst I was away I had really good dialogue with my teammates.
“The support from all of the staff of the football club, coaches included, has been amazing. I’m very thankful for that and it certainly makes coming in today a little bit easier.”
Despite being due to return to the track on Monday, Daniher said getting in early would help him adjust to the training loads in order to hit the ground running next week.
He enters the pre-season off the back of an educational visit to Ireland with teammate James Stewart and club physio Nick Kane, where he said the group gained valuable insights into the best practice in recovering from their ongoing groin injuries.
“I got back from overseas earlier in the week on Tuesday and thought I’d have a day off and then come back in and get into the swing of things.
“It might take me a couple of days to get acclimatised to the training routine, so I thought I’d get in and get started.
“It has been quite a challenging year in terms of injury and getting out on the park and unfortunately I haven’t been able to do that as much as I would have liked.
“I spent a couple of weeks overseas training with James Stewart and our physio Nick Kane in Dublin in Ireland, which was really beneficial.
“We’re hoping that we can bring some of the stuff we learned over there back to training here and fast-track our recovery.”
Joe Daniher is confident he can return to his best in 2020. (Image: AFL Photos)
Daniher also took some time to travel earlier in the off-season and he said it gave him the chance to take a crucial breath.
“It was really nice to get away. It’s a luxury of playing AFL football; you get some time off at the end of the year to do whatever you like and travelling is one of those things I love to do.
“I spent a few weeks in Spain, a couple of weeks in Scandinavia and then finished off in Ireland. I had a really good trip away, I’m really refreshed and I’m looking forward to getting back to training.”
The high-flying forward has been restricted to just 11 games across the past two seasons, but he is “absolutely” confident he can recapture his best form and perform consistently if he remains committed on the track.
“My priority is just to get my body in really good shape where it can handle really consistent AFL football and where I’m at right now is a fair way away from that.
“I’m pretty determined to get my body to a point where I can get out and train really hard with the group and then impact for the football club.”
