HAWTHORN star Shaun Burgoyne believes Jonathan O’Rourke is one of a number of young midfielders pushing a strong case for senior selection ahead of Round 1.
Burgoyne, who is set to embark on his 16th AFL season, says competition for spots has been fierce this pre-season.
With Liam Shiels’ wrist injury, a fifth berth from last team’s premiership team has opened up.
“Obviously it’s not good news for us…he’s one of those young players we were looking at to step up again this year,” Burgoyne said of Shiels.
“The only positive we can get out of it is he’s going to miss a week or two before the season starts, which hopefully (reduces) the amount of home and away games he misses.
“We obviously have a few spots spare from last year’s team, so this is just another spot that someone’s hopefully going to take with two hands.”
Burgoyne says O’Rourke is one of those players who could be ready to emerge.
“I think he’s had a pretty good pre-season – another year learning the system, learning how his teammates perform on the field,” he said.
“There’s a lot more trust definitely from his teammates to him. He’s made great improvements this year, and this pre-season we’ve seen him play pretty well and on the weekend he definitely put his hand up.
“There’s a few guys – Jonathan O’Rourke, Billy Hartung, and Will Langford played in the VFL, so those guys are all in the mix. We saw young Blake Hardwick play on the weekend as well.
“It’s another opportunity for a young guy and it’s going to give the coaching group something to talk about in their match committee.”
It’s business as usual for Burgoyne, who says he can’t wait for the season to start.
“It’s always a bit slow to start with, being a bit older and coming back after an extended break just with a bit of wear and tear over the years,” he said.
“I haven’t missed a beat since Christmas. I’ve been able to play two of the three games, and I’m just looking forward to Round 1 now.”
LATEST NEWS
MRP: Mitchell cleared, Hardwick offered fine
Gibson determined to stay ahead of the pack
