AFL: Midfielder Cam Ellis-Yolmen desperate to keep his spot in Lions’ line-up
Former Adelaide Crows midfielder Cam Ellis-Yolmen is keen to retain his spot in the Lions team despite the return of Jarrod Berry.
AFL
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The 2020 AFL season hasn’t gone exactly to plan for Brisbane Lions midfielder Cam Ellis-Yolmen but there’s still a chance to finish it on the high of a premiership.
In his first year with Lions, the former Adelaide Crow has only played eight matches due injuries and dips in form.
“I wanted to come here and have a really good season and play most of the games, but stuff like that stopped me from playing as many games as I wanted to,” Ellis-Yolmen said.
But having been in Brisbane’s 22 for their final two matches of the regular season, Ellis-Yolmen is desperate to retain his spot despite the certainty that the fit-again Jarrod Berry will return from a shoulder injury for the Lions’ qualifying final against Richmond on Friday week at the Gabba.
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“I hope I can stay in the team and play in the finals against Richmond.” he said.
“Having bee dropped and being injured, and then trying to get myself back in the team and performing the best as I can, that is all I’ve focused on.
“We’ve got such good depth with our young guys coming through that you have to keep on your game and keep performing at your top level otherwise you do have guys knocking on the door ready to come in.
“That helps us because if we do have injuries we’ve got guys who can step up and play well.”
Ellis-Yolmen, 27, played 39 matches for the Crows across six seasons before being traded to Brisbane as an unrestricted free agent.
“It’s been really different here, and if I would have stayed in Adelaide my whole year would have been completely different,” he said.
“I would have been travelling a lot more but I was happy to make the move. I’m happy to be in Brisbane ... I got lucky.”
The fortune includes playing for a premiership-contending team rather than a Crows side that finished with the wooden spoon.
“I haven’t really cared about them too much, but I’ve still got mates in Adelaide in that team,” he said.
“I knew they were going to have a few years of rebuilding, and that they were going to be playing a lot of young boys.
“They got a few wins, so it was good to see them not going through the season without a win.”
Originally published as AFL: Midfielder Cam Ellis-Yolmen desperate to keep his spot in Lions’ line-up