Connolly ready to prove himself in second season

As Essendon took Lachlan Johnson with pick 63 in last year’s AFL Draft, Trafalgar’s Leo Connolly put his phone down on the couch and wandered into the kitchen, thinking his night was over.

He returned as the Saints were on the clock and heard his name read out, quickly looking closer at the TV to make sure it really was his name.

He couldn’t believe it. The shock and excitement were evident when his home erupted in celebration, then his phone rang. It was his new coach, Brett Ratten.

“He rang two minutes after the draft and he welcomed me to the club, I couldn’t believe it was him, it was a bit overwhelming,” he said.

Within five minutes, his home was overrun with friends coming to celebrate with him and his family and his phone was blowing up with messages of support and congratulations.  

The next 24 hours were a blur as he found himself walking into his new club alongside new teammates Patty Ryder and Bradley Hill on family day.

For the then 18-year-old, it heralded a new career and moving out of home.

“I definitely have a lot more respect for the money my parents have spent on me over the years, I found out food isn’t cheap pretty quick,” he laughed. 

As he acquainted himself with his new surroundings, the leap from TAC Cup to the AFL was quickly noticed, but he was keen to prove himself.

Then COVID-19 hit, forcing the suspension of the season and throwing his plans off course.

Looking back Connolly sees the season as a success, despite not debuting or being able to play VFL football.

“In a way, COVID probably helped me progress physically in the end, something they wanted me to do,” he said.

He worked on building his frame and putting some muscle on. During the break he spent many days back home in his dad’s makeshift gym and was able to condition his body.

He also spent the season continuing to learn about nutrition to help him develop physically. 

After the AFL returned to the field in June, Victoria was hit with the second wave of coronavirus and by July, Connolly and the team were told they would be heading to the AFL hub in Noosa.

“I remember that day vividly, we were expecting to be leaving somewhere the following weekend. Instead, we had 24 hours to pack and get up there. I had things at home in Trafalgar I had to get shipped up,” he said.

They were told they would be in the hub for 32 days, but Connolly would end up spending 110 days away from home in his first season.

Still, his focus was solely on improving his game but with that came challenges and learning experiences.

“I wanted to do everything I could to impress, but when you get to this level you can’t really do what you want. You have to play your role and when you do that, that’s when you impress.

“It was a massive learning curve for me. It’s a good thing to learn really early on and I started to figure it out on the field towards the end of the year,” he said.

While the time away was tough, it enabled Connolly to bond with his new teammates in a way he hadn’t thought possible.

One player who had helped him a lot was Brad Hill, the veteran taking the time to coach and give advice.

The support he had from his family also kept him going. 

“It’s great to have support from both sides of my family as well as my brother and other family members, part of my success is them,” he said.

Connolly continues to focus on building his body to combat the rigors of the game and is keen to be back at the club. 

“I’ve missed it definitely, seeing those guys again will be great. Towards the end of the year, I felt I was playing better, so now it’s about me staying in the game and being more consistent and continuing to improve,” he said.