Brad Hibberson has revealed how tweaks to his training routine helped him make a triumphant return after three years away from football.
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The 32-year-old midfielder agreed to play for Chiltern this season after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, sparked by a wrist injury, and he finished 2021 as the Swans' best and fairest.
But it didn't always look like being a fairytale return, as Hibberson explained.
"It was almost three years since I'd played," he said.
"I broke my scaphoid and working as a chippie, it didn't come good for a while so footy went on the back burner.
"I was definitely rusty at the start of the season.
"After round one, I said to Luke Brookes, the coach, that I was nearly ready to go back into retirement.
"I was pretty disappointed with my performance, to be honest, but I trained hard after that.
"I was pulling up real sore in the calves."
Hibberson played 10 of Chiltern's 11 games, kicking 14 goals for the year and helping the Swans to second place on the ladder before the season was cancelled.
"We could have gone deep into finals, with the team we had," he said.
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"We were pretty even across the board. Our forward line, with Mark Doolan and Ethan Boxall going one-two in goal-kicking for the league was a real benefit for us and then our backline is probably our best line.
"We've got a lot of young blokes who are quick and fit.
"There's a lot of locals and the few players they've added have stuck around.
"Ben Mason and Nick Bracher, blokes like that, have stuck around and have almost become locals, which says a lot about the club.
"It's an honour to get B&F but I'd rather win a flag. I haven't won one and Chiltern hasn't won one in the TDFL so it'd be nice to be part of the first TDFL flag for Chiltern.
"I'll go around again next year if my body holds up!"
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