James Pattinson opens up on his local footy debut

Former Australian Test star James Pattinson will return to the local footy field for the first time in over a decade this weekend and he has declared his own expectations.

Former Australian test cricketer James Pattinson will be playing football with the Doveton FC in Division 2 of the Southern Football League this weekend. James is pictured with his great mate Michael Cardamone who is the playing coach. Picture: Ian Currie

James Pattinson can’t identify his first steps on Doveton’s AJ Robinson Reserve.

He was too young.

He remembers being the football club’s senior statistician at 14 but knows he had already put in a decade of attending training and matches before that.

“I was speaking to some of the older guys and they were telling me that I was running around here at three or four (years old),” he said.

“I was basically here every Saturday watching my brother and his friends play and my dad was president for a few years in the early 2000s.”

Former Australian test cricketer James Pattinson will be playing football with the Doveton in Division 2 of the Southern Football League this weekend. Picture: Ian Currie

The 32-year-old returns to Doveton, in the Southern Football League, after more than 15 years in cricket’s elite set up where he played 21 Tests and 15 one-day internationals for Australia, seeking the moments he missed as a teenager.

“Run around, kick some goals and play with some mates,” he said of his hopes for the year.

“When you dedicate your career to something for 15 years or longer as I did, it’s nice to do something different.

“I was really passionate about footy when I was younger and then I went to Haileybury (College) and I missed playing school footy there because of cricket commitments and being contracted early.

“When I was contracted with Victoria at 15 or 16, I wasn’t able to play school footy, it was probably the hardest part. It was great being contracted but all my mates were playing, and I wasn’t out there.

“There’s nothing really holding me back anymore, to be at training and not have too many people telling you what to do, whereas when you’re in an elite environment, everything you do is under a microscope.

“I always wanted to play with Shannon Henwood, Michael Henry and Cam Williamson.”

Coach Michael Cardamone (left) and Pattinson go for a jog. Picture: Ian Currie

Doveton coach Michael Cardamone says the passion and enthusiasm that caused Australian cricket fans to fall in love with Pattinson is having a similar impact at the Doves.

“It’s not every day you get a professional athlete coming into the club,” Cardamone said.

“He’s probably not the same sort of playing weight he was at cricket but his energy on the track is elite.

“I have had to pull him back sometimes because he has got gears one and six.

“He’s definitely going to be a big asset for me in the forward line this year.

“He’s bubbly, the boys love him, he brings a lot of energy to the track. I have to hold him back a little bit so he doesn’t get too excited and hurt himself or someone else.”

Cardamone is confident the former Australian quick will go through the same rigours of Sunday soreness as every other local footballer.

“He’s going to pull up sore, so I have to manage his body not having played contact sport for 15 years,” he said.

Pattinson disagrees.

“There’s nothing harder than bowling 48 overs in 50-degree heat in Chennai, I think I will be all right,” he joked.

Pattinson celebrates a wicket in one of his 21 Tests. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Pattinson’s last football game was an under-age grand final loss to Beaconsfield in which he roamed across half-forward and pinch hit in the ruck.

He will play full-forward this year but is looking to get up the ground once his fitness grows.

“I played a little bit at centre half-forward, I was more agile when I was younger,” he said.

“I haven’t got as many pre-season sessions in as many as I would’ve liked, when you finish your career you tend to enjoy yourself a bit.

“I am quite strong and I can kick the ball a long way, so at the moment my assets are probably best used up forward.

“In saying that, as the season goes on and I get more fitness under my belt, I might move up into a role that needs a bit more agility.”

Doveton’s new full forward James Pattinson. Picture: Ian Currie

Cardamone earmarked ‘Patto’ as a key forward early and was pleasantly surprised with his fundamentals.

“We planned nice and early that he was going to play at full-forward, it’s an area we’re missing at the moment,” Cardamone said.

“We have done a couple of drills against our key backs and he has been hard to stop.

“I have spoken to a few people, I said if you didn’t know he hasn’t played for 15 years, with how he trains, body positioning and how he kicks a football, you would think he has played 200 games of local footy.

“I know he isn’t going to be outmarked and we have really good small forwards. I don’t expect him to kick 50, 60, 70 goals, if he does, fantastic.

“But as long as he brings the ball down for us little blokes, he is doing his job.”

Pattinson’s comeback season begins this Saturday when Doveton travels to East Malvern in a Division 2 clash.