Ryan Abbott’s return to Geelong could not have come at a better time.
After playing a year with the St Kilda Football Club in the infamous Queensland hub, it’s great to see him back in the hoops.
The Bankers have quite a mix of young guns and experienced veterans, with “Rabbott” enjoying the blend.
“There’s just so much excitement around the group,” he said.
“A lot of boys are really excited to play footy, especially with the year off last year.”
“It’s a really fun group to be a part of at the moment.”
“There’s a lot of young lads that are lots of fun to be around and make it really enjoyable to come down and train.”
Putting in some quality work over the preseason has undoubtedly helped the key ruckman as he heads into the 2021 VFL season with a clean bill of health.
Although, things extend a bit further beyond just keeping fit this year for “Rabbott”.
“I’m glad that at the moment I’m healthy and able to train every night.” he said.
“For me it’s, at this stage, it’s more about getting game time with lads I haven’t played with for a while and really enjoying my football.”
“It’s been really good to reconnect with those guys and even other young guys at Geelong that I only spent a year with.”
“Guys like Jarv I got to see for a year or so when they just got drafted, and now it’s really cool to come back after a season of them playing AFL and developing."
With such a strong AFL list and a lot of quality bigs throughout the club, there are only so many key tall roles to go around.
Luckily, he’s seeing beyond just getting a game.
“My role, and one that Cheesy put to me when I first came down, was really not have the pressure of having to play every week.”
“It’s really a development role and one where I can sort of shadow the younger guys.”
With some big young fellas like Shannon Neale, Sam de Koning and Liam Fiore, “Rabbott” might have his hands full up against them at training.
Despite the competition for spots, Cats fans can look forward to seeing the veteran’s influence extend beyond matchdays and through these up-and-comers.
The Bankers take on Collingwood’s reserves team this Saturday at 12pm, Deakin Oval before the VFL season kicks off the following weekend.
