New Essendon forward Kaine Baldwin says he’s confident he can get his body right and repay the club’s faith in him, after the South Australian last week signed a one-year rookie contract.

Initially shaping as a high draft pick, Baldwin was overlooked in the 2020 NAB AFL Draft after suffering two ACL injuries that forced him to miss a large chunk of football over the past two years.

While receiving interest from several clubs early in the supplemental selection period, Baldwin revealed he first met with the Bombers’ medical team in January, flying down from the Gold Coast where he's been studying a Bachelor of Health Science degree at Bond University and training with the Suns’ Academy squad.

“The whole process has taken a little bit of time. We’ve probably talked about it for a few months. I went down to Melbourne in early to mid January just for the medical team to have a look at my knee and get to know me. They deliberated over the decision for a couple of months before deciding last week,” Baldwin told SEN SA on Tuesday.

“I’m pretty confident and so are the club. Having been at the club over the weekend, I’ve got a whole new program which is much more detailed. I’ve got a few target areas that I really need to hit over the next six-week period, and then I’ll start moving into training.

“There’s been a few ups and downs (in recent years), but I think I owe a bit to the Essendon Football Club for putting the faith in me. I’m just keen to get stuck into it and get myself right so I can repay the faith.”

Hailing from Glenelg, Baldwin arrives at Essendon with an impressive resume before injuries struck.

The 194cm goalkicker led South Australia to its NAB AFL Under-16s Championships title in 2018, impressing with his contested marking, strength and athleticism.

His performances in the championships earned him a SANFL reserves berth to kick off the 2019 season, but his year was tragically cut short after an ACL rupture in his right knee.

Baldwin made a full recovery ahead of the 2020 season, before the same knee buckled in a trial game for Glenelg and sidelined him for a further six months.

The 18-year-old, who will relocate to Melbourne in the coming weeks, said he had plenty of hard work ahead of him to get conditioned for games, but was aiming to make an impact in the second half of the year.

“I haven’t got an exact return to play date. I think anywhere from mid to late year is a good target. I’ve got a few specific strength and stability goals that were identified over the weekend, so I’ll work on those,” Baldwin said.

“I’m pretty happy to move down to Melbourne. I’ve got some study stuff to finish off up here, and the club has been really supportive of that. I’ll be down there (Essendon) within a month.”