North Melbourne midfielder Aaron Hall says he has rediscovered his love for the game since arriving at Arden St, and is hopeful of having a injury-free season.
Hall sent a scare through the North camp in the club’s first pre-season match last weekend, assisted off the field with a knee complaint.
Since given the all clear, he believes a fresh start will help him reach his full potential.
“I battled at the Suns a lot in the 2017 and 2018 seasons,” Hall said.
“I lost a lot of motivation, and that was the main reason for heading down here, starting at a new club and creating a new home.
“It definitely has reinvigorated me, and I have a lot of fire in my belly to get the most out of my career.
“I feel as though I have only really scraped the surface on what I think I can achieve.”
That fire will be evident this weekend, as the 28-year-old lines up just seven days after what he believes was a potentially season-ending injury.
“I’m going to have a run tomorrow, I’ve pulled up quite well,” he said.
“Obviously the vision didn’t look great, it didn’t feel great at the time either, and I feared the worst because the pain was quite sharp.
“I think when I got hit on the side, the way I went down and the pain that I felt, I thought I’d done my ACL.
“I’m the happiest person right now and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
At this time of the year, most clubs and players would be likely to take a cautious approach given Round 1 is just a fortnight away, however for Hall, missing out on the Roos’ second JLT clash with Port Adelaide on Saturday wasn’t an option.
“I really wanted to play this week,” he declared.
“Leading into Round 1, I really like to get the minutes into my legs.
“Even though I’ve had a good pre-season and I’ve done a lot of work and played in a lot of match simulations, I really wanted to gel with my teammates and play with them.
“I think any opportunity I can get before the start of the season to be out there and in the battle with them, will be crucial for me heading into the season.”
Hall is part of a 26-man squad travelling to Adelaide as the Roos look to fine-tune their game ahead of their season-opener against Fremantle on March 24.
