A knee injury that limited him to just 27 games over two seasons had the 2008 Brownlow Medallist considering retirement at the end of the 2012 season.
Advances in treatment since then have seen a change in Cooney’s fortunes as he returned to his best playing 19 games in 2013 before averaging 20 disposals a game from his 18 games last season.
“My knee is very good at the moment and I haven’t missed a sessions so far,” Cooney said.
“I think that it was reported I passed all my medicals leading into the trade period with flying colours so it is going well at the moment.
“I have learnt to deal with it and manage it by working out what is best for my body.
“I pretty much know what it can take now and how much training I need to do to get myself up to be fit enough to play.”
The speedy midfielder admits he considered giving the game away at the end of the 2012 season before finding the best way to manage his issue.
“The treatment has come along in the last two years and it has saved my career,” he said.
“I think mid way through 2012 I was looking at retiring and I had some treatment on the knee after that which is ongoing and has really helped.”
“I don’t get any pain or swelling anymore which is really positive.”
The No. 1 draft pick in the 2003 National Draft has settled in well at his new home where he will wear the famous No. 13 guernsey.
“There was a few factors in me moving,” Cooney said.
“I think for me to get the best out of my last couple of years I needed to change and the club (Western Bulldogs) fortunately were good enough to let me go.
“It probably worked out well for both parties in the end, I got to where I wanted to go and the club got another good draft pick.
“Hopefully I can finish my career playing in some successful team footy.”
Cooney said he was impressed with Essendon from the moment he met with the club and always wanted to join the red and black once he decided to leave the Bulldogs.
“I met Hirdy, a few of the guys at Essendon, took a tour of the facilities and seemed to get on really well with them,” he said.
“They had a few good things to say about me and where I could fit in team wise so it all seems pretty positive for me.”
The 29-year-old is set to put his flexibility to the test throughout the 2015 season after coach James Hird indicated his desire for the Brownlow Medallist to play in a number of different positions.
“He is pretty keen for me to be versatile, he wants me to be able to play half forward, through the midfield or on the wing and he mentioned a little bit at half back,” he said.
“I think one of the reasons he wanted me to come to the club was part of wanting to add some outside run and the fact I can play multiple positions.”
