Jesse Lonergan arrived at Metricon Stadium as a first round draft pick more than two summers ago, and like any high draftee, the hard-nosed midfielder came to the Gold Coast SUNS with a burning desire to play regular senior football.
 
Unfortunately for the Tasmanian clearance specialist, his football fate has not been kind. Lonergan has been prevented from having a consistent run due to persistent hamstring injuries, as well as two broken wrists.
 
The 20-year-old finally put his injury woes behind him in the second half of 2014, playing the final nine games of the season to generate some momentum heading into this pre-season.
 
With the SUNS wealth of class and depth in the midfield, Lonergan knows that he is facing an uphill battle to cement a regular spot in Rodney Eade’s engine room, but he welcomes the challenge.
 
“I have had a rough run my first two years, especially early in the season with my hamstring and breaking my hand twice. So just a bit of bad luck and I was lucky enough to be in the 22 that played in the back half of last year,” Lonergan told SUNS TV on Friday.
 
“We’ve got a quality midfield outfit. We’ve got Gaz [Gary Ablett], Dave [David Swallow], Jaegs [Jaeger O’Meara]; we’ve got a number of players who can play through the midfield.
 
“Just to get a game is pretty tough in any position. I’m just grateful to play the games I have.”
 
In 2014, Gold Coast’s need for an inside midfielder to complement the outside polished ball users led the club to trade for Mitch Hallahan from premiership outfit Hawthorn.
 
Hallahan’s recruitment intensifies the competition for spots in the SUNS onball brigade, but Lonergan believes the contest will only be beneficial for his football and for the club as a whole.
 
“Mitch has been pretty good coming into the club, he’s fitted in well and just having another inside midfielder that you can work off and train hard against is good. We’re both pretty competitive and it helps (to improve),” Lonergan said.
 
After playing nine games last season, following on from four appearances in his debut year, Lonergan is striving to finish off a strong pre-season that has seen him emerge as one of the SUNS most outstanding runners.
 
The fact Lonergan has remained on the track during the summer months hasn’t been lost on the former No. 13 draft pick.
 
“I think I’ve had a pretty good pre-season. I haven’t been injured, I haven’t missed too many training sessions,” Lonergan said.
 
“I’ve definitely improved my 2km time and I feel like I’m running better than I have in previous years so it’s going well so far.”