GEELONG recruit Gary Rohan believes a change of scenery and being closer to family will help him recapture top form after the most challenging year of his life.
In April, Rohan and wife Amie endured the heartbreak of losing one of their twin daughters, Willow, only hours after she was born.
The 27-year-old former Swan then struggled for form and fitness, averaging only 8.5 disposals – his fewest in the past five seasons - and kicking seven goals in 11 games.
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"(I'm in) a bit of a flat spot here and I feel like I'm just on a treadmill going on the same spot," Rohan told NAB AFL Trade Radio.
"New scenery, new club, new faces, (will help me) get that excitement back and get back to what I was doing best."
The Cats secured the athletic forward on Wednesday after handing over pick No.61, which they had received from Brisbane in exchange for Lincoln McCarthy.
Rohan will inject some pace into Geelong's front half next season, and he is confident of giving Tom Hawkins a chop-out after the Cats spearhead was heavily relied upon to kick match-winning bags of goals in 2018.
"I think I'd like to be that second tall or third tall forward and go back to my best and go for my marks," he said.
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"I feel like my strength is my marking, so I'll try to help out Hawkins and those boys."
Rohan had an inkling from his manager the Swans were looking to trade him as part of their list refresh, and the Cobden product only agreed to move if a deal could be struck with Geelong.
"The first thing (to consider) was family, it would be good to be close to family, but obviously we've made a lot of friends and family ourselves up here, and I've got my own family now that I've got to worry about," he said.
"Obviously I had a tough time this year and having our families on the doorstep would be pretty handy if we needed them."
Rohan played 106 games for the Swans over nine seasons and booted 96 goals after being taken with pick six in the 2009 NAB AFL Draft.
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The former Geelong Falcons star returns to the area he grew up confident he found balance in life away from football.
"Growing up you're footy-mad and I still was footy-mad until had my family," Rohan said.
"All my focus now is not right on football, it's part on my family.
"Obviously I didn't have the best year this year, but in the future to come it's going to be a good distraction for me not to think of footy 24/7."
