Hawks’ milestone man hungry for more glory
AFL: Hawthorn captain Jarryd Roughead says the pursuit of a fifth premiership remains the driving force of his career, and that it far exceeds personal milestones such as his 250th game against Richmond on Sunday.
The 30-year-old admits he has a greater appreciation for the game – and the club – since beating melanoma last year, and has been buoyed by the quick turnaround in the club’s fortunes in recent months after a tough start to the season.
“I haven’t really thought about it (his 250th game) too much,” Roughead said. “My goal wasn’t to come back and play 250 games.
“When I got the all-clear to come back and play, it was all about playing footy again.
“Once something is taken away from you that you have known since you were 17 years old, you want to get back and play as soon as you can.
“The injuries happen, you understand in footy, but with what happened last year, your perspective changes a fair bit, and you understand that footy isn’t everything.”
Admitting the club was in trouble after losing five of the first six games of this season, Roughead said the future now looked bright for a revamped and revitalised Hawthorn, saying that even though the finals are still only an outside chance this season, he was confident better things would come next year and beyond.
“It still seems a fair bit away (another flag), (but) we will do everything right that we can here,” he said.
“We have to get ourselves to our next one (flag). We are not here to keep racking up games, we are here to try and win flags, and hopefully we can win another one.”
Roughead says he hasn’t considered his own playing career nor looked beyond the end of his current contract, which expires at the end of the 2019 season.
“I’m 30 now, I have got two years left on a deal at the moment, so we will stay at that and see what happens,” he said.