Williamstown's Greene light
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STEVEN Greene isn't too fussed where he starts in Williamstown's line-up this season.
In fact the 2006 Seagulls best and fairest winner says he would be happy simply coming off the bench - just as long as he is playing some part in the side's push for the 2008 VFL flag.
Greene, the former Hawthorn wingman, is fortunate to be back playing after missing much of last season due to a knee reconstruction.
Not having played since last June, Greene broke back into the Seagulls' line-up for their round 4 clash with Geelong.
While the Seagulls suffered their first loss of the season to the reigning premier, Greene was relieved to be back safely, after a premature return in March.
"It (the knee) actually recovered a bit better than I was anticipating, and after eight and a half months I played down at Casey in a practice game, but unfortunately had a bit of a setback there," he said.
Greene enjoyed a solid hit-out in that pre-season reserves game, but, as well as 16 possessions and two goals, he came away with some pain in the knee.
"That kind of stalled my confidence a bit," he said.
After resting for a few more weeks, Greene returned to official playing duties in round 3, in the 'twos', before breaking into the seniors against the Cats.
Slowly regaining touch, he began to look like the Greene of old in the Seagulls' win over top side North Ballarat in round 5.
"I found in the second half of that game I started to find a bit of confidence and form," he said.
Greene admits he probably tried to rush back from the reconstruction a little too early, caught up by the buzz created by an off-season of change at Burbank Oval, which included the arrival of the Western Bulldogs as the Seagulls new AFL partners, as well as the recruiting of several big name VFL players.
"I was just itching to get out there," he said.
"I could see that this could potentially be a pretty exciting year, so yeah, I was getting a little frustrated ... I probably wanted to play sooner than I should've.
"But, it's all worked out well now, and hopefully I can stay injury-free."
Greene said the knee now feels fine, though "it takes me a bit longer to recover after games".
"I've actually found that, all things considered, it feels quite good come game day, and I've now got the confidence I can play to something similar to the form I had before I injured it.
"I don't think I'll win the best and fairest again our midfield is pretty strong just so long as I can play a role in this team, which looks as though it has improved in a few areas that let us down last year."
Greene, who played 43 AFL games for the Hawks from 2001-2005, said he has been impressed by the new-look Seagulls' on-ball brigade, which has added depth and class.
"We've got a lot of Bulldogs players, (Callan) Ward and (Guy) O'Keefe in particular, they have been fantastic," he said. "Obviously Johnno (captain Brett Johnson) is a star, and David Stretton and Liam Picken have really stood up and are playing some great footy."
Greene says the extra experience provided by new arrivals Ben Jolley, Callum Urch, Jason Cloke and Matt Little will also help, especially at finals time.
"There's now experience on every line," he said. "There's Urch and Little up in the forward line who have been exposed to AFL footy, there's Jolley and Johnno in the middle and then down back we've got Clokey.
"And you're complemented by some very talented Bulldogs players.
"We've stalled at the pointy end of the finals each year, hopefully we can go one step further this year," he said.
STEVEN Greene isn't too fussed where he starts in Williamstown's line-up this season.
In fact the 2006 Seagulls best and fairest winner says he would be happy simply coming off the bench - just as long as he is playing some part in the side's push for the 2008 VFL flag.
Greene, the former Hawthorn wingman, is fortunate to be back playing after missing much of last season due to a knee reconstruction.
Not having played since last June, Greene broke back into the Seagulls' line-up for their round 4 clash with Geelong.
While the Seagulls suffered their first loss of the season to the reigning premier, Greene was relieved to be back safely, after a premature return in March.
"It (the knee) actually recovered a bit better than I was anticipating, and after eight and a half months I played down at Casey in a practice game, but unfortunately had a bit of a setback there," he said.
Greene enjoyed a solid hit-out in that pre-season reserves game, but, as well as 16 possessions and two goals, he came away with some pain in the knee.
"That kind of stalled my confidence a bit," he said.
After resting for a few more weeks, Greene returned to official playing duties in round 3, in the 'twos', before breaking into the seniors against the Cats.
Slowly regaining touch, he began to look like the Greene of old in the Seagulls' win over top side North Ballarat in round 5.
"I found in the second half of that game I started to find a bit of confidence and form," he said.
Greene admits he probably tried to rush back from the reconstruction a little too early, caught up by the buzz created by an off-season of change at Burbank Oval, which included the arrival of the Western Bulldogs as the Seagulls new AFL partners, as well as the recruiting of several big name VFL players.
"I was just itching to get out there," he said.
"I could see that this could potentially be a pretty exciting year, so yeah, I was getting a little frustrated ... I probably wanted to play sooner than I should've.
"But, it's all worked out well now, and hopefully I can stay injury-free."
Greene said the knee now feels fine, though "it takes me a bit longer to recover after games".
"I've actually found that, all things considered, it feels quite good come game day, and I've now got the confidence I can play to something similar to the form I had before I injured it.
"I don't think I'll win the best and fairest again our midfield is pretty strong just so long as I can play a role in this team, which looks as though it has improved in a few areas that let us down last year."
Greene, who played 43 AFL games for the Hawks from 2001-2005, said he has been impressed by the new-look Seagulls' on-ball brigade, which has added depth and class.
"We've got a lot of Bulldogs players, (Callan) Ward and (Guy) O'Keefe in particular, they have been fantastic," he said. "Obviously Johnno (captain Brett Johnson) is a star, and David Stretton and Liam Picken have really stood up and are playing some great footy."
Greene says the extra experience provided by new arrivals Ben Jolley, Callum Urch, Jason Cloke and Matt Little will also help, especially at finals time.
"There's now experience on every line," he said. "There's Urch and Little up in the forward line who have been exposed to AFL footy, there's Jolley and Johnno in the middle and then down back we've got Clokey.
"And you're complemented by some very talented Bulldogs players.
"We've stalled at the pointy end of the finals each year, hopefully we can go one step further this year," he said.