Collingwood v Geelong: Jamie Elliott opens up on Lions trade offer, new role in Pies team
Jamie Elliott says he had ‘a lot going through my head’ when the Lions came calling in last year’s trade period. But with a new role and new-found confidence in his body, he’s never been more sure he made the right call.
Collingwood
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Jamie Elliott insists there wasn’t a light bulb moment that dragged his AFL career back almost from the brink; it was more about finding the balance his body needed.
In doing so, he has not only added a new dimension to his game, he’s also enhanced Collingwood’s capabilities, particularly with a slight role change this year.
As Elliott prepares to take on Geelong in Saturday night’s semi-final at the Gabba, the 28-year-old says he is grateful for where his footy career is at right now and delighted he stuck with the Magpies when Brisbane came calling as a suitor late last year.
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“I’m just loving it at the moment,” Elliott told the Herald Sun in a rare interview.
“In the past I have trained and not played, and having been injured a fair bit, to be able to train and play each week is not something I ever took for granted, but it is just so nice to do
it.”
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Elliott has spent almost the past four months living out of a suitcase in the Magpies’ hub — most of it in Queensland. He’s missed his dog, a French mastiff called Reggie, and his family.
He had contemplated a move to the Sunshine State late last year when Brisbane made a strong play to recruit him when he was out of contract.
The highly-skilled Magpie was torn on the decision and he toured the Lions’ facilities, but his loyalty to Collingwood and his teammates won out.
“Collingwood feels like home to me,” he said. “It was tough during that period. I was going through the sh-- of my hammies and I was like, ‘Do I need a new environment to get the best out of myself?’”
“I had a lot of things going through my head.
“Fortunately, I made this decision. I am really comfortable staying in Melbourne, where I have got most of my family close, so that was a big part in my decision.”
Given what he has been through – a back injury that saw him spend a season on the sidelines in 2016 and repeated hamstring issues that cost him another season out in 2018 – Elliott couldn’t be more thankful that he has regained trust in his body, thanks to the program that protects it.
That has allowed him to spend more time in the midfield this year, and also assisted him in getting through the most condensed fixture in AFL history.
Elliott will play his 18th game of the season against the Cats – his highest season tally in a calendar year since 2015.
It’s taken some time for him to find the right equilibrium, but in doing so, he has made a serious impact in 2020.
“There were people saying, ‘Your body is injury prone’ and all that sort of stuff, but I don’t think anyone is really injury prone,” Elliott said. “I just think you need to find a program that works for you personally.
“You can’t have a generic program that suits every player because every player moves differently and is unique in that aspect.
“When you find the right program that works for you, and you don’t waver from it, you figure it out. I think that’s why I am in a really good place at the moment.”
Settling on a program that works for him hasn’t been easy.
There was a trip to Germany in late 2018 with good mate and fellow rehab partner of the time Darcy Moore to see Bayern Munich head doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt; there were frustrating stints on the sidelines which saw him miss that year’s Grand Final; and there was more than a little anguish trying to find a solution.
But it has been worth it.
Moore is now an All-Australian; Elliott has not only resurrected his AFL career across the past 18 months, he has again become a key member of the Magpies’ drive for that elusive flag.
“With my back (injury), I didn’t really have any hiccups,” he said of the 2016 injury. “It was like, ‘OK, I have had back surgery and I need this amount of time to recover’.
“There were basically no hiccups, whereas with the hammies, I just think the toll on my body was really tough.
“I was training so hard (to get back) it was like I just didn’t give my body a chance to rest once I was out of rehab. I basically had three mini pre-seasons to get my body right and probably just over did it a bit.”
Elliott and the Magpies conditioning team came to the conclusion that less was more, setting parameters around his preparation that he still religiously follows.
“When I look back on it, I was coming off two 14.5km sessions (when his hamstring was injured), it was like my body personally wasn’t meant for that,” he said.
“I am not doing a massive amount of running now. I am more of a power athlete. It is more about getting the good running in, not the junk running … I wouldn’t say there was a turning point … or a light bulb moment.
“But in the middle of 2019 was probably when we worked out what the program looks like.
“In the past, especially when I was returning from my back (injury), I was like ‘I need to work harder and do more’, whereas now that I am getting a little bit older, I might be getting wiser.
“I know what my body needs and I’m a lot smarter with it.”
Elliott is not sure if the trip to Germany to meet with one of the world’s leading hamstring experts Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt had anything to do with his recovery.
“We went to this clinic and all these nurses and staff members were all wearing white,” he said.
“You get the treatment for five days and then you do all these exercises and do a bit of training. It is hard to look back and say, ‘That fixed me’, but I think in terms of finally settling on a management plan, that was the biggest thing for me. I am sure that Darcy would say the same thing.”
He has relished his role further up the field this year, gathering career-high figures in disposals (16), contested possessions (6.4), clearances (2.6) and pressure points (45.1) with Champion Data’s normalisation of 2020 stats allowing for shorter game times.
In his 16 games in 2019, he spent only 2 per cent of game time in the midfield. This year it has been 37 per cent midfield with 63 per cent forward.
When the Magpies resumed after the first COVID lockdown, an opportunity arose, and Elliott jumped at it.
“During that period where we came back, I was playing a bit more through the midfield and with centre bounce work,” he said. “They liked me there, so I have come in every now and then.
“Traditionally, I have always played as a leading-type forward, even though I am a short player. Now this year, I have played a lot higher. I am more around the ball and I am playing that higher role.
“I am really enjoying it. At times you can play forward and you can have a quarter without even seeing the ball. But when you are involved in centre bounces and you are around the ball, that aspect is nice.”
Elliott has a year to run on his current deal and the determination to win a flag is the thing that still drives him.
“Being older now and being in the system for longer, it means a lot more than when I first got to the club.
“I’m 28 now, and I really want to win a premiership.
“We have a chance this year. We believe our best is as good as anyone’s. But we have three more hurdles to get through and it starts again with Geelong.
“I don’t think we really clicked as a group and played four quarters until last week (against West Coast). But I feel like it is all coming together now.”
TRACK WATCH: CAN PHILLIPS WIN A RECALL?
- Nick Wade
Thursday night’s training session was Tom Phillips’ first taste of match simulation training since returning to full fitness following his hamstring injury in Round 15.
He was on the white team — made up generally of players on the fringe or out of the side — so was essentially fighting for his spot.
Then he was one of the last to leave the training track, as if he was on his best behaviour to impress coach Nathan Buckley.
As training wound up and players headed for the carpark, Phillips was still working on his goalkicking in a small group on the far pocket of the ground.
He looms as a big call for the Magpies, given he had otherwise been a regular in the side until his injury.
HOT INTENSITY
Collingwood attacked its 30-minute match simulation with real heat. There seemed an intent to move the footy quickly from halfback and deliver the ball long and quick into the forward line, much like the winning formula that delivered an upset win over West Coast last week.
The Pies then spent almost as much time on their goalkicking and front-end-centre craft. While Geelong’s defence is strong at setting up to protect the high ball, it got exposed a bit last week at ground level against Port Adelaide.
Collingwood’s best option will be to test the Cats with quick entries and, where possible, separate the defence.
Jordan De Goey appeared to play a high forward role in match simulation, and that is where he could be most dangerous against the Cats.
WILL CAMERON KEEP HIS SPOT?
Does Collingwood keep Darcy Cameron in the team to take on the Cats?
Cameron gave Brodie Grundy a chop out last week against West Coast after being called up for just his ninth match of the season — and his first since Round 14.
In Thursday night’s match simulation, Cameron and Grundy were on opposing teams and came face-to-face in the centre ball-ups, while Mason Cox also chipped in with some relief rucking for Grundy’s team.
Given Geelong does not have a powerhouse ruckman, the Pies may not require the extra reinforcement this week. Another key selection call to watch.
TRAVIS VARCOE STILL HAS IT
He may be tipped to retire at season’s end and he may have been dropped for the elimination final against the Eagles, but Travis Varcoe could very easily slip back into the Collingwood line-up if required.
The 32-year-old was used as a rebounding option in Thursday night’s match simulation but joined the forward group for goalkicking at the end of the session.
THE DEW FACTOR
Not for the first time this season, the Magpies took their session under lights to best replicate the conditions, almost to the minute, they will confront on Saturday night at the Gabba against Geelong.
They have been ahead of the curve this year trying to combat the Queensland dew, even dunking balls in soapy water a few weeks ago.
But for the most part, the training was conducted in relatively clean conditions. Scott Pendlebury and Jaidyn Stephenson completed a series of ground balls at the end of the session; Pendlebury not fumbling one as the footy skidded along the turf.
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