PAUL Chapman accepts his body is no longer up to the rigours of a full AFL season, with the former Cat aiming to play 16 games for his new club Essendon this year.
Chapman, 32, crossed to Essendon in last October's trade period after Geelong told him his time at Simonds Stadium was up after 251 games and three premierships in 14 seasons.
The 2009 Norm Smith medallist played just eight games in 2013 after battling a lingering hamstring injury.
But Chapman said he had been reinvigorated by his move to Essendon and was excitedly awaiting the upcoming season.
"If I can get 16 games up for the year (that) would be good," Chapman said at the launch of the NAB Challenge on Monday.
"I'll definitely be rested through the year, I dare say I'll be asking for rests.
"You get to a stage in your career where you'd love to play them all, but you've just got to be smart and think of the bigger picture.
"It's taken me a little while to get that into my thinking but it's definitely there now."
Chapman said he would not play in the Bombers' round one NAB Challenge game against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium next Monday, but is set to play in their round two game against Port Adelaide and a practice match against Richmond.
However, he did not expect Essendon's careful management of him would see him don the substitute's vest this season.
"If I'm playing I'm playing and if I'm not playing I'm not playing," Chapman said.
Chapman expects to play predominantly in attack this season and pinch-hit in the midfield when needed.
The Geelong great was one of the youngsters the Cats started rebuilding their team around in the late 1990s and saw how that list matured into one of the most dominant teams in AFL history.
Asked how close Essendon were to becoming genuine flag contenders, Chapman said he had been very impressed with the state of the Bombers' list, particularly their youngsters.
"They've been very impressive, they're sponges, they just want to learn," Chapman said.
"They ask good questions, they're not intimidated or anything like that. They just want to be the best that they can be.
"It's a very positive place to be and I just want to try and teach these young kids as much as I can and they just want to learn as much as they can.
"So it works well for both of us."
Twitter: @AFL_Nick
