Essendon recruit Ryan Crowley says he has been impressed by the attitude of his younger teammates.
Crowley was the first recruit to sign up with Essendon in the wake of the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling.
Former Cat James Kelly has also joined the Club with more signings expected in the coming days.
Crowley joins the Bombers after a 188 game career at Fremantle.
The 31 year old has signed a one-year deal and wants to make the most of his opportunity.
“I’m going to go over there and train my heart out and hopefully earn the respect of the boys there,” Crowley told 91.3 SportFM (Perth).
“If you’re playing good footy I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t extend. All I was looking for this year was a foot in the door somewhere and just back myself in and back my training habits in and obviously my performances on game day.
“I’ve never been as eager to get out there. I’ve missed footy so much over the last year.”
Crowley spent most of the later years of his Fremantle career playing on some of the the best midfielders in the game.
“As taxing and as hard as that tagging role is, if that’s what John (Worsfold) wants me to do each week, it’s an amazing feeling to be able to pit yourself against one of the genuine stars of the competition,” he said.
“I kind of consider myself to be more of a ‘trier’ than a skilled player. To be able to play against these guys that have won Brownlow medals and just been genuine stars – it’s a really cool thing, I’m really looking forward to it.”
Crowley said his new Coach and Midfield Line Coach Guy McKenna have spoken about the value of his experience and the potential for some of the young Bombers to pick up some new tricks.
The former Docker has begun training with his new teammates and said he had been impressed by some of the young talent on the list.
“They’ve got some really talented young mids, some guys you wouldn’t have even seen yet,” he said.
“(Darcy) Parish, (Jayden) Laverde, (Zach and Jackson) Merrett – I was really impressed on day one.
“They were like little sponges soaking everything up and hopefully that helps them.”
