SIMON Wiggins is nothing if not a realist; he knows the pressure is on after a tough 2007, but he’s determined to reclaim lost ground this year with the aid of his best pre-season in a long time.

“I’m pretty rapt, I’ve gotten through nearly everything which is a bit of a rarity for me because I tend to break down a little bit during pre-seasons,” Wiggins said.

“But this year I’m really happy, I’ve had no issues with my hamstrings that I have had over the last few years.”

The 25-year-old managed 13 games last season with his best performance a 23-disposal effort against Port Adelaide in round 11, but he failed to cement a spot in an under-performing side.

“Last year sort of put me back where I didn’t want to be,” he said.

“I’d jumped ahead a little bit in 2006, but all it takes is one year and you’re on the back foot again.

“At the end of 2006 half my hamstring was off the bone, so I had to have re-attachment surgery and that didn’t let me run until basically just before Christmas and I joined in skills just after. I was basically behind the eight ball, for the first part of the year anyway, and playing catch up.

“But I did a bit of strengthening work over the break which I really needed to do without the running, just so I could let it settle down and focus on strength alone; I’m feeling really good.”

Adding to the bright mood in the Wiggins household is the recent success of his wife, Loudy Wiggins (nee Torky), who reclaimed her national diving title at the Australian championships after coming out of retirement in June last year.

“It’s a bit frustrating seeing how super talented she is,” Wiggins said, laughing.

“She obviously works extremely hard, but she can go and have a year off and then come back and win her eighth national championship on the 10m platform, which is just amazing, whereas if I don’t kick a football for a week I can’t do anything.

“It’s frustrating in that way but I’m really proud of her; she’s inspiring in how she goes about it, she’s a really tough competitor.”

As proud as he is, don’t be surprised to see an anxious Wiggins sitting in the stands watching his wife compete through a small crack in his fingers.

“It’s one of those sports where if you’ve got someone that you care about, you don’t really enjoy the competition, because one tiny slip-up can cost you the competition or you can hit your head on the board and be in all sorts of trouble,” he said.

“It’s pretty nerve-wracking going to competitions; I enjoy seeing her do well, but I do get pretty nervous watching her up there.

“She wants to get me up there on the 10m platform to teach me how to dive, but I haven’t got the best flexibility, so I don’t know how I’d go with that. I’d have the balls to jump off, but I don’t think I’d be able to do any of that other business.”

Loudy is set to compete in the Beijing Olympics in August which Wiggins says rules him out of watching her live from poolside unless, he adds tongue firmly in cheek, millionaire club president Richard Pratt flies him up and back in his private jet.

Wiggins is hopeful by that time he will be firmly entrenched in a side preparing for its first finals campaign since 2001, but at the same time he’s trying not to put too much pressure on himself.

“I’m just really going to try and enjoy my footy this year,” he said.

“There have been a lot of changes made down at our footy club and I’m just really excited about playing footy again. I think that’s going to really inspire me to train hard and do everything I can to just be out there.”

Wiggins maintains the dark clouds that hung over the club in recent times are long gone, for which he gives new coach Brett Ratten much of the credit.

“I don’t think there would be many people with the level of game knowledge that he has,” he said of the former Blues’ champion.

“When he was playing he was basically coaching, he just knows all the players and he sees things differently; it’s like he’s in the matrix.”

With plenty of positions up for grabs as the club enters a new era, a fit Wiggins is eyeing a spot across half-forward or on a wing, but admits he’ll be happy to slot in anywhere the coach wants him to play as the Blues march into 2008.

“There’s no point playing all the years that I’ve played in the bad times if I’m going to miss out on all the good times to come,” he says.

“It’s been hard being at a club that has been so successful and then being there for the most unsuccessful period for a club that’s been around for over a hundred years.

“It’s about time we got a bit more success down here and I want to be part of that.”