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CALEB Marchbank spent so much time lying on the couch last year that even his parents became a little tired of him.
"If you asked them, and my siblings, they'd say I got very annoying," Marchbank said. "I had a lot of energy but wasn't able to do much with it."
Marchbank is tipped to be a first-round pick at next week's NAB AFL Draft, but the tall defender comes with a little bit of intrigue, having missed a significant amount of football over the past two seasons.
His bad run started in the opening fortnight of his 2013 season, when Marchbank received a knee to the back while playing for the Murray Bushrangers.
It was late in the third quarter and Marchbank immediately left the field feeling sore, but after being examined by the club's physiotherapist, returned to play out the last term.
"After the game it was really sore, and the physio told me to have two weeks off. He said if it was still sore after that, he'd send me to get an MRI scan," the 17-year-old said.
"He initially thought it was tightness in the back, but the MRI actually didn't show anything. We just thought it must be a really, really tight back and nothing serious."
But the pain didn't subside and Marchbank had a bone scan, where stress fractures in his L4 and L5 discs were discovered. It meant his season was over, and although he avoided surgery, Marchbank required a six-month rehabilitation period.
There was plenty he was disappointed about. The timing, for one thing, was annoying. He'd just completed a full pre-season, and felt fit.
Even though he couldn't be drafted until 2014 anyway, he’d been invited to train with the Vic Country under-18 squad ahead of the national carnival and was excited about that.
"It was very hard, physically and mentally. That was probably the toughest thing I've gone through. Everyone just said ‘think of next year' and I stayed in a pretty good headspace. I knew I couldn't dwell on things," he said.
"I always had that mentality where I had the next year to impress and that became my main focus. Last year didn't work out the way I wanted it to, but I always wanted to get fit and get ready for this season."
He gradually left the couch and put down the PlayStation controller to build up his body again, hit the gym, swim plenty of laps in the pool, and fixed his posture – an arch that doctors believed contributed to the fractures.
His steady approach paid off: Marchbank returned fit and ready at the start of this season and continued in the same way. He played all six games of Vic Country's NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, impressed at both ends of the ground, and was named in the All Australian side.
"It was very hard, physically and mentally. That was probably the toughest thing I've gone through. Everyone just said ‘think of next year' and I stayed in a pretty good headspace. I knew I couldn't dwell on things," he said.
"I always had that mentality where I had the next year to impress and that became my main focus. Last year didn't work out the way I wanted it to, but I always wanted to get fit and get ready for this season."
He gradually left the couch and put down the PlayStation controller to build up his body again, hit the gym, swim plenty of laps in the pool, and fixed his posture – an arch that doctors believed contributed to the fractures.
His steady approach paid off: Marchbank returned fit and ready at the start of this season and continued in the same way. He played all six games of Vic Country's NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, impressed at both ends of the ground, and was named in the All Australian side.
"I was really proud of myself for playing the whole championships," Marchbank said.
"Before the carnival started I was a bit nervous and thought I was only going to play two or three games, and that might not be enough to try and impress the recruiters out there."
Caleb Marchbank flies for a mark during this year's NAB AFL Under-18 Championships. Picture: AFL Media
At 192cm, Marchbank knows he is probably not tall enough to hold down a key position at the next level. But he feels his running, marking and the ability to read the play holds him in a good spot to swing from one end of the ground to the other if that's asked of him.
"I like being thrown around to show my versatility. I played my best footy through the championships as that third tall down back. I played on instincts," he said.
For a short while, anyway. The week after the championships, he hurt his knee playing for the Bushrangers. He had surgery on a lateral meniscus tear, spent eight weeks on crutches, and his season was over.
He packed in some really good games for his state side, but Marchbank, who lives in Victorian country city Benalla, has played so little football over two seasons that he is wondering the same thing as others.
"I'm hoping I've done enough and hoping the recruiters think the same," he said.
Most tend to think he'll be picked somewhere in the first 20 selections, having seen enough this year in Marchbank's limited appearances.
"He's definitely shown enough," one recruiter said. "It's been a little bit difficult assessing where he plays his best footy, but to me, it seems as that third tall defender. I like his courage in the air."
Twitter: @AFL_CalTwomey
"Before the carnival started I was a bit nervous and thought I was only going to play two or three games, and that might not be enough to try and impress the recruiters out there."
Caleb Marchbank flies for a mark during this year's NAB AFL Under-18 Championships. Picture: AFL Media
At 192cm, Marchbank knows he is probably not tall enough to hold down a key position at the next level. But he feels his running, marking and the ability to read the play holds him in a good spot to swing from one end of the ground to the other if that's asked of him.
"I like being thrown around to show my versatility. I played my best footy through the championships as that third tall down back. I played on instincts," he said.
For a short while, anyway. The week after the championships, he hurt his knee playing for the Bushrangers. He had surgery on a lateral meniscus tear, spent eight weeks on crutches, and his season was over.
He packed in some really good games for his state side, but Marchbank, who lives in Victorian country city Benalla, has played so little football over two seasons that he is wondering the same thing as others.
"I'm hoping I've done enough and hoping the recruiters think the same," he said.
Most tend to think he'll be picked somewhere in the first 20 selections, having seen enough this year in Marchbank's limited appearances.
"He's definitely shown enough," one recruiter said. "It's been a little bit difficult assessing where he plays his best footy, but to me, it seems as that third tall defender. I like his courage in the air."
Twitter: @AFL_CalTwomey
