WESTERN Bulldogs recruit Lukas Markovic hopes a shift in positions and a change of fortune will help shape his second chance at an AFL career.
Markovic was thrown a lifeline by the Dogs in Thursday night's NAB AFL Draft when they used their third selection, No.63 overall, to secure him.
The 22-year-old said he was thrilled to be offered a senior spot three years after an injury-riddled season on Hawthorn's rookie list saw him cut.
"At the end of the year, I started speaking to the recruiters a little bit here and I just know in this industry, there are no guarantees at all," he said from Whitten Oval on Monday.
"I was certainly still having the mindset I'd be playing VFL next year and if I got picked up, it would be a bonus.
"As it turned out, it's worked out that way and I'm absolutely rapt."
The Hawks axed the key position player at the end of 2006 after he suffered two serious ankle injuries.
He went on to play for the club's VFL affiliate side, the Box Hill Hawks, and was named co-captain of the senior side.
"I still held my head pretty high even though I was shattered," he said of his axing from Hawthorn.
"I completely understood why I got delisted because I had my second significant ankle injury and they just weren't sure how I'd pull up and whether I'd play again.
"I just chipped away at it for the next couple of years and remained pretty focused and I'm absolutely rapt to get another shot."
Markovic says he has completely recovered from the injuries but also believes he has matured as a player.
He has relished the recent opportunity to develop his skills as a defender.
"I'm definitely a lot more experienced [than I was at Hawthorn]. I was 19 there and I was picked up as a forward," he said.
"Now I'm basically a backman, which I've always seen as being where I play my best footy.
"Just actually having the past years in the VFL, playing on some experienced and big forwards, has been the main difference in enabling me to play some good footy.
"I'm confident I can take it up to the next level and hopefully there's a spot for me in the back six. I'm looking forward to a good pre-season and putting on another couple of kilos and try and get a spot there."
Coach Rodney Eade said Markovic was a valuable gain for the Dogs with his leadership ability and potential to act as back-up for the senior side.
"We looked at his playing ability and the way he went about it and I suppose that's why he was made captain," he said.
"He's a very competitive individual. We've watched the VFL closely and a lot of tapes on him as well and he's played on some very good players [and] some very big players as well.
"We think there's a role for him in our team in that area."
