Williamstown young gun Jack Dorgan has been to hell and back three times in his football career.
No one would have thought any less of the 22-year-old if he decided to pull the pin after a third knee reconstruction.
The support of his Seagulls teammates and club support staff made the decision to return a whole lot easier.
“You sometimes begin to feel like a shadow in the football club,” Dorgan told Star Weekly.
“Your mates just pick you up every week and when you go and watch your team play such a good class of footy each week, you know why you’re still there.
“It’s tough, it obviously has its moments, but you work through it.
“We’ve got such good physios at the club, they’ve helped me through it each one at a time.”
Dorgan sat through last year’s Seagulls senior and development league premierships.
He would have been part of one of those sides had he not been on the injury list.
It made for a bittersweet feeling on grand final day, but also confirmed in his mind why he wanted to get back in the blue and gold.
“It’s always tough sitting back and watching your best mates go out there and win a flag, but I was so happy that they won it,” Dorgan said.
“There’s people like Ben Jolley and Cam Lockwood who have been there for years and deserve it more than anyone.
“I just thought I’d love to be a part of that and this is a window of success for Williamstown and no better time to be a part of it.
“It’s obviously the right club to be around at the right time and the people that are at the club keep you there every year, the coaching staff, players and support staff.”
Dorgan has not only made a successful return to the playing field, but has already shown glimpses of career-best form.
Williamstown has rushed to extend his contract until the end of 2017 and he was last week named into the extended squad for the VFL’s clash with the SANFL this weekend.
It is a lot more than Dorgan expected on his return.
“I sort of expected to have the majority of the first half of the season coming through the twos,” the wingman/half forward said.
“‘Collo’ [Seagulls coach Andy Collins] said to me that he wants me to ease into it and my goal this year was to play footy, find my love for it again and enjoy it because I know how much time I’ve spent away from the game.
“I was lucky enough to get an early call up into the seniors and sort of held on to the opportunity that Collo’s kept giving me.”
Dorgan will know this week if he made the cut for the VFL representative team. The squad of 25 will be trimmed back to 23, but he was just thrilled to have made the extended squad.
“When I saw that I had to read it twice,” Dorgan said.
“There’s a lot of players out there I have somehow snuck in front of, but if I get the opportunity to play with the top VFL players, that would be amazing.”
Dorgan got his start in football in the juniors at Hoppers Crossing.
It was not long before he was on the radar of the Western Jets, placing him under the noses of the Williamstown scouts.
The apprentice electrician is no longer consumed by the AFL dream, as he has unfinished business at the Seagulls.
“It’s just more about winning a flag at Willy now,” Dorgan said.
