Jed Anderson hasn’t featured in a competitive match in 2019, but the midfielder is back to full fitness, and
The 25-year-old could find himself back into the senior side on Sunday, but is more than willing to play in the VFL on Saturday night.
“I’m prepared to play at any level this weekend, I just want to get back into playing,” Anderson told North Media.
“We’ve done a lot of work over the past eight weeks to get me in the position I’m in.
“Given how I’m feeling at the moment, there is a chance I could go straight back into the AFL side, but it’ll all come down to what the fitness guys say and what Brad (Scott) wants to do.
“I’m just happy to play footy, whether it’s VFL or AFL.”
A hamstring complaint following an intra-club game earlier this year put a halt to Anderson’s otherwise flawless pre-season, then somehiccups pushed his timeline back further.
“I had a hamstring strain which took a while to heal,” he said.
“We were just getting that stuff under control before I got out there and built up to playing.
“We’re pretty much ready to go now, so it’s full steam ahead.”
A hard-nosed midfielder who never leaves anything in the tank, Anderson attacked his rehabilitation in a similar fashion, but was held back by the Roos’ medical staff for his own good.
As the club has done for the duration of the pre-season block, North took a considered approach to his recovery.
“Six weeks ago we set out a plan to potentially play last week or this week, and we went with this week just to be cautious,” Anderson revealed.
“It’s the best thing for me long term.
“I’ve pushed the boundaries a fair bit, but the fitness guys are really strict on their protocols when coming back from a hamstring strain.
“Apparently the area that the strain is in, has a high recurrence rate, so we were just really cautious.”
In North’s best 22 last season, Anderson admits it’s been difficult to watch the opening two rounds from the stands.
“It’s frustrating, but you can see the boys are trying to do what we speak about, but it’s just not coming together at the moment,” he added.
“I think the balance will come, and once we do get it right, we’ll start getting some wins on the board and start tracking in the right direction.”
The squads for this weekend’s AFL and VFL matches will be announced on Thursday night.
