WHEN Clinton Young landed awkwardly on his ankle in the third quarter of last year's grand final, his immediate reaction was devastation.

But the devastation was not because he would take no further part in the match, more that his team was reduced to 20 fit players, with Trent Croad also sidelined.

Young left the field and went to the change rooms with the game in the balance but emerged soon after with his team firmly in control.

"At the time it was very frustrating. I went to the room and I was devastated. I knew Croady was already down injured," Young said.

"My main concern was the team and the fact that they now had two players unable to play. I walked back out 20 minutes later and saw we were dominating the game so the frustration turned to relief."

Young had just got a kick away at half-forward when Geelong's Joel Corey brought him to the ground.

"It was a complete accident but I knew immediately that I had done some damage. I got off and I was frustrated but the boys played extremely well for the rest of the third term."

Young might not have been on the field when the siren went but he did have the advantage of being able to celebrate a bit earlier than his teammates.

"It was a pretty surreal feeling in the last 10 minutes and being in a position to win the game. It was pretty special," he said.

"The last few minutes I was able to walk around and give a few high fives to the people on the bench and once the final siren went it was a dream come true."

Young's injury turned out to be no ordinary sprain and it impeded most of his pre-season. He barely touched a football until January and was kept from agility running.

But he managed to make it back for round one and admits the first two weeks of the season haven't gone to plan for the team or for him.

"I've been playing a bit more on half-back but hopefully I can get back to the wing and play my best footy. I'm probably not getting enough touches at the moment which is a bit frustrating. I'm trying to be a versatile player and trying a bit at half-back, but I need to find some form at the moment," he said.

While Young might not have fully hit his straps just yet for 2009, he is still streets ahead of the skinny rookie that arrived at Hawthorn at the end of 2004.

"At that stage, playing AFL footy felt a long, long way away. I remember thinking that I had to put my best foot forward. The senior team wasn't having a great year and I got in the Box Hill team. I started playing pretty well and was lucky to play the last seven games," he said.

"I remember trying to give it my best shot and I was very skinny back then. I'm still pretty skinny now. I just had to play to my strengths and show the coaches what I could do."

Young is not the only member of his family to take the field this week. Little brother Lachlan, who has Down syndrome, took part in a match between the Ringwood Spiders and Mazenod Panthers at half time of Thursday night's Collingwood-Geelong match.

These teams are involved in the Football Integration Development Association, a competition for people with intellectual disability aged 14 years and over. There are more than 500 people and 25 teams connected to similar associations across Australia.