Hawks veteran Jarryd Roughead ready to get back to his best
Relieved of the burden of captaincy, Hawthorn hero Jarryd Roughead is ready to return to his best.
AFL
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WITH the pressure of being the Hawks captain off his shoulders, Jarryd Roughead is ready to return to his best.
Roughead took over as captain of Hawthorn at the start of the 2017 season but will step away from the role this season, a move the forward believes will help him concentrate on his own football.
“That’s obviously the reason I stepped down as captain, to focus on my own game,” Roughead said.
“I’ve got a daughter who is one next week, so she takes up a fair bit of my priorities.
“It’s just to release a little bit of pressure and the footy club has obviously helped out. I’ve been in the leadership group for 10 or 12 years, so to take a backwards step is not bad.”
Roughead has had a tough few years on and off the field, having battled cancer during 2016, which kept him out for the season, and having his form questioned at times last season.
Since returning from his lay-off in 2016, Roughead has kicked 72 goals in two seasons at an average of just over a goal-and-a-half a game, which is far less compared to the two seasons prior where he kicked 125 goals at an average of more than 2½ goals a game.
The 32-year-old is looking forward to letting his footy do the talking after getting in a full preseason.
“We’ve had a little bit of a longer break over the Christmas period, which has been good,” Roughead said.
“Now we are getting back into it, with games starting in two weeks, that’s where we really start to have fun. This whole running around boundary lines isn’t my [favourite].
“When we get to the games we’ll have a bit more fun.”
The former skipper admits he isn’t sure who will take over his role this season but said there are several candidates who can.
“We probably have five or six blokes who can fill the void,” he said.
“To name one would probably be unfair to the other blokes vying for the captaincy.”
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