Diggers Rest forward Brent Tuckey is all but certain to be fit for the Burras’ opening match of the Riddell District Football League season.
Tuckey injured his elbow in round three last year and missed the rest of the season.
But after the extended time on the sidelines and a full pre-season under his belt, the former Collingwood AFL player is ready to go.
Diggers Rest coach Shaun Sims praised Tuckey for his hard work in getting back to full fitness.
“Brent is excellent as a person and what he does for our football club,” Sims said.
“He hasn’t missed a session and is looking good. He’s excited to get back into it; he wants to get out there.”
The reintegration of a fully fit Tuckey into the Burras’ line-up caps off what has been a brilliant off-season for the club.
Diggers Rest has added Essendon league duo Dean Smith and Jamie Lobb as well as Jamerson Campbell from Sunbury Kangaroos.
After losing the past two grand finals, Sims says the focus is on looking forward to improving rather than looking back on missed opportunities.
“If you’re thinking about the year just gone then you’re probably looking at the wrong thing,” he said.
“We’re more interested in focusing on how we can improve, how we can learn from the things we did well last year and the things we probably didn’t.
“That comes along when you review everything. We review our coaching, we review the way we run our club, what we think we need player-wise and what we need to do training-wise.”
Diggers Rest played its first practice match of the pre-season last week, taking on EDFL side Taylors Lakes.
The Burras will also play Castlemaine and Darley in the lead-up to the club’s round one fixture against Riddell.
Sims says he’s expecting a much more even competition this season.
“In the past there has been that top six that everyone bangs on about,” he said.
“I think you’ll find that if you’re off your game against some of the sides that were outside the six last year, you might get a rude shock.”
