Talented, young Tiger Jason ‘George’ Castagna’s transformation from running defender to dangerous small forward has been one of the Yellow and Black success stories of season 2017. Castagna’s impressive body of work earned him an AFL Rising Star nomination this week, and he subsequently discussed his exciting on-field evolution with Fox Sport’s ‘AFL Tonight’ program.
Embracing life as a forward
“Really happy to switch to play up forward this year. I can’t say I would have expected to have played every game so far. So I’m really rapt with how it’s going and, hopefully, can continue the form.”
How the move happened
“’Dimma’ (coach Damien Hardwick) mentioned it to me at the end of last season . . . just wanted me to play that small, pressure forward kind of role. I worked on that over the pre-season and was lucky enough to break in.”
Defining individual season
“It’s my third year on the rookie list now, so I guess it was a bit of make or break. Really had to prove myself this year and show some good signs.”
Fun up forward
“It’s good fun playing down there obviously with (Daniel) Rioli, (Dan) Butler, Shai (Bolton) and Tys Stengle when they come in. We have a bit of fun down there and try and put pressure on and kick some goals . . . It’s all good fun.”
High hopes for Tigers’ finish to the season
“We’re headed to the end of the season saying to ourselves, why not? We’ve been playing so well and, if we can keep this brand of footy up, then why not us?”
