McDonald itching to return to finals footy

WHEN BEAU McDonald last played in an AFL final the year was 2002. At the time he could have been excused for thinking he would go on experiencing September action right throughout his career.

After all, seven of his 75 career games to that point had been finals. And at 22 he had just played in a second straight premiership as a member of a side at the peak of its powers.

Flash forward to the current pre-season and McDonald, having put a potentially career-ending knee injury behind him, is eyeing off final number eight.

"To get to play another final would be terrific," McDonald told lions.com.au.

"Finals are why you play footy and when it gets to that time of year and you aren't a part of the action, you feel a bit like a second-rate footballer, to be honest.

"Playing in the finals atmosphere is where you want to be and I'd love to get back to that."

The likeable ruckman is one of the most popular figures at the Gabba, but even the most optimistic of fans would likely have bet against his return to AFL ranks after he suffered a serious injury to the posterior cruciate ligament in his knee midway through 2003.

But McDonald persevered and forced his way back into the senior team early in 2005.

While some slight niggles have interrupted his progress since then, the knee has stayed healthy and he is now only nine games away from the reaching the 100-game milestone.

"The main thing I'm concentrating on at the moment is playing a whole season," McDonald said.
"The year before last I got back to play eight games before I hurt my hammy and last year I managed to play 17 games – nine in the reserves and eight in the seniors.

"This year I just want to play every game, so I'm doing a lot of work in the gym and on the muscles around my knee.

"Because I missed so much footy and couldn't do a lot because of the knee, there were parts of my body that were weaker than they otherwise might have been and the hammy was probably one of them.

"It was actually where they took the PCL (graft) from but there's no way of telling if it's related – you can only speculate on that."

With the departure of Cameron Wood to Collingwood during the off-season, McDonald will battle Jamie Charman and young gun Matthew Leuenberger for game time in the ruck.

With Charman established as one of the league's most influential ruckmen, and Leuenberger tabbed as a star of the future, McDonald says the situation is a healthy one for the Lions and the players themselves.

"It's no different to how it's always been; when I got to the club I was competing with Matthew Clarke and 'Crackers' Keating for a spot and then Trent Knobel as well," he said.

"It's the same at every footy club, I think. There are always a few ruckmen competing for spots and you've just got to stay confident and make sure you contribute when you get the opportunity.

"Matty Leuenberger is one of the best young players going around at the moment and I'm probably nearer to the end of my career, so we are at different stages in our football.

"But I'm confident in what I can give to the team and I'm working to get the chance to show that."

The Lions' strong finish to the 2007 season has resulted in many pundits predicting a return to finals action next year.

McDonald says the potential shown by the current squad is similar to that shown by the Lions sides of the late 1990s.

"My first year here (in 1998) we finished last, but the couple of years after that things really picked up and the team went places," McDonald said.

"You can see a little bit of that now. You know blokes like Michael Rischitelli are another year older, a bit bigger and have more confidence in their footy. It's really exciting.

"We see ourselves as being a couple of steps ahead of where we were at the same time last year and, without wanting to get ahead of ourselves, I think we can be quietly confident about playing finals next year."