Risha tight-lipped on football future
MICHAEL Rischitelli remains tight-lipped about his AFL future but the footy veteran’s year isn’t over yet.
Rischitelli finished the AFL season with four games to his name following a successful return from a serious knee injury that ended with a disappointing 20.15 (135) to 3.2 (20) loss to Port Adelaide on Saturday.
The 31-year-old is off contract at the end of the season but Rischitelli has previously voiced his desire to play on in 2018 if his body responds well to his comeback.
But with the AFL season now over Rischitelli, who has played 215 AFL games between stints at Brisbane and Gold Coast, said he was not ready to reveal his plans despite being content with his body’s condition.
“It was good to be able to get some games in the legs and the body,” Rischitelli said.
“Obviously winning is the priority but it was also good to be able to play some footy again.”
The 2010 Brisbane Lions best and fairest has been at the Suns since its inception into the AFL in 2011 and is one of eight players who have played 100 games for the expansion club.
Rischitelli said the Suns didn’t work hard enough in their Round 23 loss to Port Adelaide where they were kept scoreless for the entire second and third quarters.
“We are very disappointed with the way we finished the year,” Rischitelli said.
“That is going to burn the boys in the preseason. The boys will think they are working hard and look back at that and know they have got to keep working harder.”
Many of Rischitelli’s senior teammates will begin their offseason but the experienced and respected midfielder will join in on the club’s quest to win the NEAFL premiership.
Rischitelli is expecting to feature in the NEAFL side’s preliminary final against Sydney Swans at Blacktown International Sportspark this Saturday.
“I’ll go back, do a lot of recovery that I need to do, train during the week and hopefully we can get some success in the NEAFL,” Rischitelli said.
Rischitelli has played six games in the NEAFL this season while he works his way back from the ACL injury he suffered playing against Brisbane in July last year and said he had enjoyed the chance to mentor the younger academy players.
“It’s been good. The guys that have come up from the academy have a really good crack and the guys that are listed do their best,” Rischitelli said.
“I have been pretty impressed with how they go about it.”