It may have taken some time to decide on his playing future, but Fremantle defender Luke McPharlin is fit and firing and raring to go this weekend.
Match preview: Fremantle v Port Adelaide
After a history of soft tissue injuries, McPharlin sought plenty of advice before deciding to go on and play season 2015.
“(There was) a lot of critical people involved; my wife of course, Ross Lyon, the strength and conditioning coach, my physio…there’s a lot of people that were involved in that decision,” he said.
“I made it clear at the end of the 2014 season to Ross that from a mental point of view, ‘I was in’.
“From there it was about discussing the physical situation of my body and whether the intelligent people around the club that know a lot more about these things than I do, felt that I could be managed through a season or get a lot out of me this season.
“The conclusion was a little bit more strength work, particularly around the calves and legs in general, and they felt that and a combination with a couple of other factors would be able to ‘right’ things.”
McPharlin said he would have been physically and mentally ready to go to play the preliminary final if the club had made it past Port Adelaide in the semi-final last year.
But despite missing the opportunity to play, McPharlin has put in a great pre-season in the lead-up to round one this Sunday against Port Adelaide at Domain Stadium.
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“I’ve completed an entire pre-season, I haven’t missed a beat at all,” he said.
“I’m probably as surprised as anyone…I feel in super shape at this point in time and I’m really looking forward to the season ahead.”
The idea of McPharlin being managed through the season has been thrown about, but the 33-year-old is just focusing on getting back to his best.
“How the team’s performing and how I’m performing of course will play a role in whether I play all the games through the year,” he said.
“But at this point in time I’m not looking further than the first four weeks, I really want to play some really good football in the first month and then reassess from there.
“I’m not really thinking about a figure or a number of games, but I certainly don’t make those decisions anyway, that’s up to the coach.”
There are still tickets available for Sunday's game through Ticketmaster at ticketmaster.com.au
