Allen Christensen promises Bombers won’t be getting some ‘washed up player’ after signing as playing assistant coach

Recently retired AFL premiership forward Allen Christensen is determined to have a major impact in the TSL, promising the Bombers won’t be getting just “some washed up player”.

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OFF-field career opportunities helped seal Allen Christensen’s move to Tasmania but the former Geelong premiership star has declared he is far from a spent force with the sherrin in hand.

In arguably the biggest coup for the TSL since Jason Akermanis signed with Glenorchy for a handful of games in 2011, Christensen has agreed to a two-year deal as playing assistant with Lauderdale.

The same year Akermanis graced KGV, Christensen, 29, was part of the Cats’ AFL premiership outfit, where he played 65 games between 2010 and 2014 before moving to Brisbane.

He played a further 68 games with the Lions but was unable to break into the senior outfit in 2020 and announced his retirement late last month.

It didn’t take long for the Bombers — who had a connection with the livewire forward through Josh McGuinness — to inquire about his services and from there the wheels were quickly put in motion.

Lauderdale recruit Allen Christensen is in Tasmania with his family for the weekend after signing with the club as playing assistant for the next two years. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

“We were really tossing up whether to stay in Queensland or not, or go back to Victoria and this sort of came up,” Christensen told the Sunday Tasmanian on a weekend visit to his new state with partner Elle and seven-week-old daughter Delilah.

“I said to them ‘this is what I want to do’, I can do this in Brisbane, I can do this in Victoria, and they got me a couple of really good job opportunities that pretty much got them over the line.

“Last year I was playing pretty good finals footy in a team that was one kick away from a prelim.

“This year I had a bit of back surgery, it just set me back in pre-season and I never really found my way back into the team.

“I know I was playing some pretty good footy, and I made sure Lauderdale knew that, they’re not going to get some washed up player whose body is cooked.

“I knew I was playing good enough but also I am really keen to sort of move into the next phase of my life.

“I’m looking forward to coming and playing at this level of footy, I think it [the TSL] gets a bit of a bad rap but I know it’s a good standard of footy and I’m going to have to keep fit and I’m going to have to keep playing good footy to really excel at the level.”

Allen Christensen in action for the Lions in July last year. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty

With family ties to the Tiwi Islands, Christensen is hoping to work with Indigenous children in schools and on reconciliation action plans, as well as in the mental health space with not-for-profit organisation SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY.

“I’ve been through a lot in my life so combining that with sport and, just dealing with the pressures of a lot of things, I think I have a lot to offer off field,” he said.

“I’m not coming here just to be a Lauderdale player, I’m going to come and help the league.

“I have a lot to learn about Tasmanian Aboriginal history, but I have learned a lot from Brisbane and the Tiwi Islands where I’m from, and want to bring it all in and share my experiences of being an Indigenous player in elite sport.”

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