SYDNEY Swans defender Nick Malceski would be quite pleased if he could completely remove the 2011 AFL season from his memory bank.
The year started with a third knee injury, and a second bout of LARS surgery, which kept him out of the side until round nine.
Malceski then strung six straight games together, but a groin problem soon flared that would see him bounce in and out of the side for the rest of the year.
The running defender would play just six of the club's remaining 12 matches, missing both finals as the Swans' year ended with a semi-final loss to Hawthorn.
"It was a year I wouldn't mind putting past me," Malceski told sydneyswans.com.au.
"I'm just concentrating on this year and making sure I can do everything to keep my body right and play good footy.
"I just couldn't get into the form I wanted to get into and it was more frustrating than anything.
"At the end of the year I sat down and knew what I needed to work on and this year I'm trying to put it into place."
The 27-year-old did come up with one way to quickly leave the season behind, marrying his girlfriend Laura late last year before heading to Bali for a honeymoon.
He has since completed a full pre-season and is eager for the new campaign to get underway.
The Swans will play an intra-club match on Friday and Malceski expects competition to be fierce.
The following week, the Swans head to Etihad Stadium to kick off their NAB Cup campaign against Geelong and St Kilda.
"Oh yeah," Malceski said when asked if he was looking forward to the intra-club.
"You’ve been doing pre-season for four months, so all you want is for the games to start and to put all the training you've been doing into games.
"It's exciting that it's starting this Friday.
"I reckon it could get a bit heated, the boys are pretty keen, a bit toey to get started."
The memory of last year's six-goal semi-final defeat to Hawthorn - when the Swans started badly and never recovered - still burns in Malceski, who could only watch from the sidelines.
"We didn't come to play in that game," he said.
"Everyone was a bit filthy that we did so badly afterwards, so it's something we've worked on and each year we want to improve.
"Hopefully we can this year.
"We've got stuff we need to work on and we've been implementing that in training and we've got the game this Friday, so it'll be good to have a bit of a scratch match."
And it's no small thing for Malceski to say he's completely injury-free.
"The body is really good, no dramas with the knees at the moment, so I'm feeling fit and healthy," he said.
"Ready to rock and roll."
James Dampney covers Sydney AFL news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_JD
Toyota AFL Dream Team is the only fantasy football competition where you can follow the scores LIVE during the NAB Cup. Register your team and see how your players are shaping up before the start of the Toyota Premiership Season.
Click here for NAB Cup ticketing information
