O’Connor sets sights on senior side

IRISHMAN Mark O’Connor says he won’t let a small ankle injury stop him from getting back into the senior side.

O’Connor broke into the AFL team in Round 2 and was selected to face West Coast on the road before a rolled ankle on the Friday prior forced him to sit out the weekend. He made his return through the VFL yesterday, logging 16 disposals and five tackles in the small defender role that saw him get a game against Hawthorn on Easter Monday.

O’Connor said he always believed he could make an early impression on the AFL side.

“It’s been a goal of mine for all of pre-season, just at the end of last year I really wanted to be in for Round 1,” he said. “I really wanted to make a statement.

“Obviously the Friday before the (Round 3) game, I rolled my ankle.

“These things happen and you have to get over these things pretty quickly because there’s always a game next week, so you can’t be too down on yourself. But at the time, I must say, it was pretty frustrating.”

The 21-year-old, who played two games in 2017, said his defensive work continues to grow, but it’s on transition where there’s room for improvement in his game.

“I’m just trying to work on my decision making and ball use in attack,” he said.

“They (the coaches) were pretty happy with my defensive work — obviously I still need to grow that as well, but I enjoy down back and on the wing. As long as I can keep working, hopefully I can really grow as a player and I’ll be able to put my hand up again for AFL footy.”