The ruck division at Metricon Stadium has regularly been plagued by injury since the club’s inception, particularly in the last couple of seasons, with Zac Smith and Tom Nicholls both missing large chunks of football.
The pair began the pre-season in the rehabilitation group but have been in full training since the Christmas interval, providing a fierce contest for the No. 1 ruck mantle. Throw in a fully fit mature-aged rookie in Keegan Brooksby and the ruck cupboard in Carrara appears to be well stocked heading into the season.
Smith’s time in Carrara has been inhibited by untimely injuries, but he looked to have put them behind him in a commanding performance against Geelong in the opening NAB Challenge fixture in Townsville.
The 25-year-old is adamant the competition for spots is highly beneficial for him and for the team in order to get the best performance possible. With both Nicholls and Smith selected for Friday night’s encounter with Brisbane, the battle will continue ahead of the season opener on April 4.
“I think any position on the field, if you’ve got people fighting for it, you’re going to try and up your game to get that number one position and that’s what we’ve all been trying to do,” Smith told the media at Metricon Stadium on Wednesday.
“We’ve been fighting all pre-season really, and it’s been really healthy for us and the club. We’ve really enjoyed it and it’s going to continue Friday night.”
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To highlight the ruck crisis in 2014, Smith missed the opening eight rounds of the season whilst on the comeback trail from a knee reconstruction. Nicholls played six of the opening seven games before suffering a season ending posterior cruciate ligament injury. Smith returned in round nine to play the next ten straight before falling victim to injury again – this time ankle surgery ended his campaign.
Confidence is a vital commodity in football and something that can be built on the training track. Smith revealed stringing training sessions and weeks and months together has built up his self-belief heading into this season.
“I got back into the main group just before Christmas and really haven’t missed any sessions since then,” Smith said.
“So just getting that continuity of training back together again and putting in some solid performances in the NAB Cup has really given me some confidence in myself going forward.”
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With one game left to press their cases for a round one berth, Smith and Nicholls will face the tough assignment of quelling Brisbane pair Matthew Leuenberger and Stefan Martin.
Leuenberger has a similar injury besieged past as Smith, whilst Martin rose from journeyman to bona fide weapon in the space of three months of dominance at the end of last season.
The difficult task on Friday night presents a great opportunity for both Smith and Nicholls to challenge themselves against quality opposition ahead of the season proper.
“Those two guys seem to be in really good form. They’ve both had really good pre-seasons, they’re both really good genuine ruckmen,” Smith said.
“Going up against those two guys this weekend will be a good test moving into the season.”
