Patience has become a critical part of Jackson Paine’s game.
In his two seasons at the Lions, Paine has been plagued by injury; his hopes of landing a senior game in the 2015 season were dashed early on as he struggled with a shoulder problem and later when ankle surgery in May ruled him out for the remainder of the season.
At season’s end Paine was given an AFL lifeline. He was delisted and the Club committed to re-drafting him as a rookie.
“Having faced my potential AFL career death, I guess it gave me a reality check on how hard to work this pre-season,” Paine told lions.com.au.
Now ready and waiting patiently for an opportunity (with a strong pre-season under his belt) the 22-year-old is primed to add to his 12-game AFL tally. Reflecting on his performance against the Gold Coast Suns in the opening game of the NAB Challenge, Paine says:
“It’s obviously almost 12 months since I played the last time – just to get back out there and be with the boys was very exciting.”
Paine, who crossed to Brisbane at the end of 2013 after two years at Collingwood, said he believes he has the qualities to compete for – and win - a spot in the Lions backline after initially being recruited as a forward.
“I’ve loved it (the move back). I played a fair bit in defence in my junior years and always sort of felt comfortable back there.
“Playing up forward was more of a new thing when I got drafted, so moving back into defence has felt reasonably natural, actually.
“I’ve enjoyed learning the craft.”
Like many of the Lions’ young and developing players, Paine has added some bulk to his frame over the summer. He is markedly stronger throughout the upper body and is looking forward to competing against some of the game's best forwards.
“I’ve tried to have a real crack in the gym, I guess to try to make a point of difference in the backline, to be one of the stronger types. It’s been a bit of an aim this pre-season.”
“(I’ll continue to) learn the craft of being a defender and keep tapping into the knowledge of guys like Rog (Dan) Merrett and those other guys that are quite experienced down there.”
