Forster-Knight was picked up by the Bombers with their 72nd selection in the 2000 pre-season draft. Essendon recruiting staff made no secret of the fact they were pleasantly surprised that he was still available when their fourth selection came around. They had in fact expected him to be taken in the first two rounds of the draft. The 17-year-old from the Murray Bushrangers was expected to take time to develop by but he rapidly found his feet in the Bombers VFL side and was impressive across the half back-line. “He runs well and reads the play – two attributes which you really need across half back,” Bombers assistant coach Robert Shaw said. “We were pretty impressed with what we saw last season and we would like to think he will push for a senior position this season.”
And that is the goal Forster-Knight has set himself this season. “I set myself the goal of playing one senior game last season. When I look back on the side it might have been unrealistic but we are all here to play senior football,” Forster-Knight said. “I spoke to Kevin Sheedy before Christmas and he said that with Michael Prior no longer at the club I should be pushing to replace him. Mick played eight to ten senior games last season so that is what I have set myself to do this year.”
Forster-Knight, 18, has fully recovered from a stress fracture of the foot that proved a major setback for much of last season. It wasn’t been the most glorified stress fracture at Windy Hill in recent times but it did halt the progress of Forster-Knight. “I played the first six games in the VFL and felt I was learning reasonably quickly and improving. The foot had been slightly sore but I didn’t realise what it was until it went on me in round six against Collingwood. It is always disappointing to be injured but for it to happen so early in my first season was annoying,” Forster-Knight recalled. “I got back for the final four games of the season and got a bit of the football. The foot has fully recovered now – there is no pain at all which is a good sign.”
Rob has added five kilograms to his frame since he arrived at the club and puts much of it down to the great home cooking at the Bateman household (no offence to John Quinn and his fitness team). Peter and Lorraine Bateman have been long-time supporters of the Bombers, opening their doors to many Essendon recruits over the years. Rob is the latest in a long line that includes Neale Daniher, Darren Bewick, Michael Prior, Scott Lucas and Mark McVeigh. “They have been fantastic to me and it just makes things so much easier. I can worry about playing football and they look after the rest – it’s an enormous help,” Rob said.
The “family” environment helped him through what can be a difficult initiation at AFL level. But Forster-Knight is no longer daunted by the prospect of training and soon playing along side some of the stars of the competition. A quietly spoken and nervous Forster-Knight arrived at Windy Hill last year and admitted he was somewhat overwhelmed by what surrounded him. “I definitely feel a lot more comfortable doing my second pre-season. I know what to expect this time around and I did three weeks training on my own before official training started,” Forster-Knight said. “It is intimidating when you are so young and you have the likes of James Hird and Matthew Lloyd around. But I feel a part of it now and can just go about trying to earn the respect of the players. It helps when you start to fill out as well – I’m bigger and stronger than I was last year so I feel I can physically handle playing at this level.”
VFL coach Terry Daniher watched the progress of Forster-Knight with interest last season. “I really believe that on work ethic alone he will make it,” Daniher said. “He doesn’t grab your eye, he’s not a real flashy type but he works very hard. He’s a good listener who doesn’t baulk at a bit of hard work He rarely misses a session on the track.” Daniher likened him to former Bomber captain Gary O’Donnell. “We obviously have a pretty strong side running around in the seniors at the moment so it might take him a while to force his way in. It happened to Gary O’Donnell and Rob might be in the same boat. If it does happen that way he will be a better player for it. He will have had a really solid grounding and that is important.”
Daniher said Forster-Knight might push further up the field as he plays more football. “He could push forward onto a wing or perhaps move into the middle and play some tagging roles,” Daniher said. “He has good concentration and competes well one-on-one. As he improves his disposal he could move further up the ground and he will want to at least give us that option. In modern-day football you need a number of strings to the bow and that will be his next big challenge.”
So Rob will continue his push for senior selection this season. He knows he has the job in front of him to break into a record-breaking side. “I’ll just keep trying to learn and improve. There isn’t anyone in particular that I try and model my football on. I just take bits and pieces from different players. There are so many good players around the club at the moment – you can learn from all of them.”
