It had been a long wait for talented left-footer Chris Knights to return to senior action with Richmond . . . 358 days to be exact.
March 7, 2014 was when Knights had last played senior football for the Tigers, in a pre-season match against Essendon at the ME Bank Centre’s Punt Road Oval.
Just one week short of exactly a year on, Knights was back in the main Richmond line-up last Saturday (February 28, 2015) for a pre-season clash with the Western Bulldogs at another traditional league suburban ground, the Whitten Oval.
Sign up as a Richmond member for the 2015 season
Knights impressed in his comeback appearance, kicking two goals and showing no signs of the knee problems that have plagued him over the past couple of years.
The 28-year-old was spent after the match, but upbeat that he was able to have an impact on the match, and emerge unscathed.
“It’s bloody tough . . . almost forgot how hard it was. It’s been a long road to get back, and I’m not back yet – it’s a NAB Cup game . . . I’m exhausted now, but I thoroughly enjoyed it,” Knights told ‘Roar Vision’ post-match.
“I think that I’ve built up a bit of confidence in my body during the pre-season. We’ve played a lot of practice games.
“For me, it’s all about performance now. I’m probably coming from a long way back, so I just want to continue to play well, play my role, and hopefully I can stay in the side and play a few games this year . . .
“I’ll put my hand up as much as I can, whether it’s in the AFL team, or in the VFL team. Good form selects yourself a position for the A team, so I’ll just keep playing as much football as I can, keep trying to improve, and hopefully it all works out for me.”
Watch highlights of Saturday’s pre-season match against the Western Bulldogs
While Knights is focused on clinching a place in Richmond’s side for the blockbuster season-opener against traditional rival Carlton, he remains a realist.
“It’s probably everyone’s ultimate goal after pre-season (playing Round 1). That would be nice, but at the same time you’ve got a lot of good players that are in my position, running through the half-forward flank and midfield and wing,” he said.
“So, you know, they’re not going to roll over and give me the spot.
“I’m just going to play as well as I can, try to play good team footy, and leave it up to the coaches.”
