Midfielder Devon Smith says he’s eyeing off Essendon’s opening round clash against Fremantle as his return to senior football.
Smith, who required season-ending surgery last year after injuring his trochlea in the round eight match against Sydney, has participated in every pre-season session after successfully rehabilitating his troublesome knee.
Speaking from the Bombers’ first day of pre-season camp in Coffs Harbour, Smith said barring any setbacks, his focus was firmly on donning the sash for the first match of 2020.
“Yeah, I’ll be good to go from day one,” Smith said.
“I’ve completed all the sessions and I’ve got my eyes on round one.
“This is probably the most of a pre-season I've completed since 2016, so I’m actually feeling pretty good.”
The 2018 Crichton Medal winner will look to bounce back from an injury-riddled year and become a key member of the club’s push up the ladder in 2020.
While Smith found it personally frustrating to watch the 2019 season from the sidelines, one positive which came from the midfielder’s misfortune was the opportunity it presented to a host of young players.
“It’s never fun, and I’m not someone who likes watching football especially at the time when we weren’t going too well,” Smith said.
“There are obviously injuries in our game, it’s just the reality, there’s forty-odd on a list and you need troops to step up.
“We got games into guys last year who can hopefully come on in leaps and bounds (and we can also) get those important players back out and playing good football.”
With the Bombers now firmly entrenched into preparing for the 2020 season, the side will spend the rest of this week in Coffs Harbour on pre-season camp.
Smith said the team’s time in the Northern NSW town will be a perfect opportunity to sharpen the side’s consistency on the training track in preparing for pre-season matches which are now only a month away.
“It’s a strange one, because every (other side) says we’re the fittest and strongest we’ve ever been,” he said.
“But we’re all about our process and being consistent with training and trying to get better every day.”
