Michael Rischitelli has revealed there were stages last year he feared his AFL career was all but over. 

“Obviously getting older and the game these days being pretty quick, I did think that,” Rischitelli told The Gold Coast Bulletin. 

Plagued by ankle, hamstring and elbow injuries over the past two years and with rising stars Jaeger O’Meara, Dion Prestia and Harley Bennell beginning to demand more central roles midfield roles, the 2010 Brisbane Lion club champion questioned whether his days in the AFL were numbered. 

But a career best pre-season and renewed confidence in his body has catapulted Rischitelli into a vital role in Guy McKenna’s round-one plans, the seasoned campaigner reclaiming his place as a first-choice midfielder. 

“I feel good,” he said.

“When I woke up this morning I felt really good compared to the last few years where I felt 38 or 37 instead of 28 or 27, so life’s good.

And McKenna knows the value of a rejuvenated Rischitelli.

“When he first came down from Brisbane he really drove the group and set the standards higher from a training point of view,’ McKenna said.

“We understand Gary (Ablett) and his leadership but Michael, if you call him the Toecutter, he was the one who held the boys accountable.

“And to do that you have to be performing. I’m not saying you have to be the best player but you obviously need to be out there performing and performing up to a level where it gives you a bit more ownership of giving blokes chips, if that makes sense.

“That’s the hardest thing about leadership, and if Risca had thought (about his future) I can clearly understand because for him to do what he’s been able to do he’s obviously needs his body in the right manner.”