Daniel O’Keefe is in his third year at the Swans, and after two years disrupted by injury he is ready to reach his full potential.
O’Keefe was the Swans’ first draft pick in 2006, and while playing in the AFL was always a dream, he is now in the process of turning that dream into a reality.
“It was always in the back of every kid’s mind but halfway through year 12 I sort of realised that it actually could happen if I put my mind to it, and in the end it did,” O’Keefe said.
After spending most of the 2007 and 2008 seasons on the sidelines, O’Keefe is happy to be playing consecutive games for the Swans Reserves team in the AFL Canberra competition.
“It’s a different feeling basically, it’s just a big contrast. Getting onto the track and actually playing, compared to the last two seasons where I haven’t been able to train. It’s a relief as well, just getting over the frustration of past two years has been great.”
The 20-year-old has been among the Reserves’ best players this season and it has been predicted that he will follow in the footsteps of teammates Brett Meredith and Kristin Thornton in making his AFL debut in 2009. But he is taking it one step at a time.
“My number one goal this year is to play a full year of consistent footy, and whether that’s in Reserves or seniors, I’ll take it as it comes… At the moment, because of the last two years of injury, I’m just taking it week by week and getting through the games. My goal is to play 20 games of footy this year and I’ll be happy with that,” he said.
Last week’s match against Tuggeranong saw O’Keefe once again named among the Swans’ best players, with two goals and 28 disposals.
While O’Keefe is happy with his progress so far in 2009, he also knows that there are still opportunities to develop as a player.
“This year, apart from the first game, the last three games have been a bit more consistent. I’ve changed a few things with my game now, so it’s based a bit more defensively playing off the half-back flank now, which is good.
“I’m happy with the way it’s going at the moment and hopefully I’ll get a bit better, because there’s always room for improvement.”
The Swans Reserves team has only won one game so far this season, but O’Keefe is hopeful that once some of the team’s key players return from injury they’ll be in with a much better chance.
“I’m pretty confident it’s going to get better, the whole Club has had a lot of injuries of late. There’s boys coming back from injury now… so we’ll have more numbers in the next few weeks, which will be great.
“Once we get right on top of our form and consistency and effort, I’m sure the results will follow through,” he said.
This weekend’s match sees the Swans Reserves take on Queanbeyan in the curtain raiser to the Swans versus Richmond Tigers game.
And while the Swans haven’t played Queanbeyan this year, O’Keefe knows the Swans will have to put in an improved performance.
“I think the results have shown that we’ve been running out of legs or maybe a bit of lack of effort in the last quarter, we’ve been working at the start, but in the latter part of the game it’s been starting to drop away a bit, so I’ve think we’ve just got to play consistent footy right through from first quarter to last quarter and hopefully the result will be positive.”
