IT'S A case of back to the future for Richmond's Daniel Connors, who is reinventing himself as a rebounding defender.
Connors, recruited by the Tigers with pick 58 in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft, was used mainly in the midfield in his 10 games in three seasons, missed the early part of 2009 with a hand injury and then played at VFL level later in the year as he struggled to shake off a hamstring problem.
But a solid pre-season under new coach Damien Hardwick saw him fit, firing and selected for the Tigers' round-one loss to Carlton.
"It was a big thrill to play round one, and I was very excited," he told richmondfc.com.au.
"It was my first ever round one, so it was good to come into the season nice and fit, and confident about my football.
"I've worked out a fair few goals with (development coach) Tim Clarke, who does all that sort of stuff at the club, and they revolve around playing consistent footy for 22 rounds and trying to cement a spot in the side."
Connors arrived at the Tigers as a running half-back, so the positional change sees him revisit those strengths.
The 21-year-old said he was enjoying the move into defence, which is where Hardwick had seen him play as a junior.
"It's been really good - I was playing back-flank in the under-18s when I was drafted, so I really like the position," he said.
"It's been good in the pre-season. It's given me a good chance to play some pretty good consistent footy.
"You've got to make sure your mindset is defend first and then run off. With playing forward for the last couple of years, [it] means you're always thinking 'attack, attack', so it takes a while to get your head around defending first.
"That just comes with playing more games down back, so it's getting there."
It was a tough initiation for Connors on Thursday night as he lined up on both Eddie Betts and this week's NAB AFL Rising Star Chris Yarran.
Connors acquitted himself well, but lessons were learned.
"Certainly Eddie and Chris are very smooth movers, and they know how to find the footy around the goals, so you've got to make sure you keep an eye on them and try to get them going back the other way," he said.
"It obviously taught me that they make the most of their opportunities, those small blokes, so you've got to stick on them and concentrate for the full 120 minutes of the game."
