WESTERN Bulldogs defender Andrejs Everitt says he never wanted to leave Whitten Oval despite the hot talk surrounding his future during trade week last year.
Everitt's name was bandied about during the exchange period alongside reports he had grown frustrated with a lack of senior opportunities.
Six months and two AFL games later, the 21-year-old said he was entertained by all the speculation surrounding his future particularly as he had only recently signed a new two-year contract.
"There was no one really driving a trade. It was all a bit of talk," he told afl.com.au this week.
"There was nothing really to come out of it at all, no bad blood or anything. It was mainly the media pumping it up.
"I never wanted to leave; definitely not. It was all a bit bizarre and something different to read really."
The laconic Everitt admitted a few clubs had expressed interest but he was determined to remain a Bulldog under the tutelage of Rodney Eade.
He said his relationship with the coach had grown over their three-and-a-bit years together as Eade pushed his young charge to increase his competiveness.
"He really gets into me about it. He's always saying I have the talent to play; I just have to get the work ethic up," he said.
"It's been a concentration thing for me. I'm a pretty easygoing person off the field and pretty laid back and that comes into my games every now and then.
"This pre-season I've tried to get that out of my system."
After glandular fever and a foot injury early last year robbed him of a proper pre-season, Everitt is feeling the positive effects of what a full summer on the track can do for your fitness.
He's also made a keen bid for a spot in the side's engine room.
"I needed to get a bit fitter so I trained with the midfielders hoping to try and get a spot in the midfield or on the wing," he said.
"My best position is on the wing but as this club has that many wingmen it's hard to get a spot there as well.
"They see me as a swingman, being able to come off the bench and either play in the backline if we're getting beaten or go onto a wing or up forward.
"You have to be a bit flexible. I like playing up forward and down back also so it doesn't faze me as long as I get a game."
Everitt said the fitness he'd picked up across the summer had boosted his confidence and increased his motivation for the season ahead.
"You know that you're fitter, you know that you're stronger, so it's a bit more enticing when you go out to play," he said.
"Now I've just got to translate my pre-season into the actual games and if I can do that it should be a bit easier to cement a spot."
