INCREASING the strength in his hamstrings is Nakia Cockatoo’s immediate focus as he eyes off a highly-anticipated return to action at some point in 2020.
The luckless Geelong livewire has played just half-a-game since injuring his posterior cruciate ligament in a VFL match in July 2018.
“The body’s going OK at the moment; it’s just trying to get my hammy strength back up to 100 per cent,” Cockatoo said.
“Hopefully, I’m back fully training soon and playing some footy.
“I’m making sure I’m doing everything right in the gym and making sure I’m up-and-running for training sessions – just trying to get the continuity in this year before I play any games.
“I want to make sure everything is alright before I do go 100 per cent.”
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Drafted with pick No.10 in the 2014 National Draft, Cockatoo has been restricted to just 34 games since making his debut in the opening round of the 2015 season.
He last appeared at AFL level in Round 3, 2018 when he first suffered damage to his PCL.
As a result of his injury history, Geelong has been open with its plans to be conservative with Cockatoo, who is out-of-contract at the end of this year.
The 23-year-old says there is no set timeframe for his return.
“I think it’s just back to full training for three or four weeks, and then maybe even a VFL game, hopefully,” Cockatoo said.
“It’s just doing everything right in the gym and then get back running on the track as well … no real timeline at the moment.”‘
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Cockatoo admits the battle to return to playing has been mental as well as physical.
“I’ve got support at the club, so I’ve been speaking to people,” he said.
“If I’m ever feeling frustrated or a bit angry, I can go and just talk to someone, which is nice.
“But, I’m a pretty positive person, so it’s been easy in a way because I don’t really think about what happened; I’m thinking about what’s going to happen next, and that’s hopefully playing some footy.”
Cockatoo was among several Geelong AFL and AFLW players playing host to 250 people from a range of cultures from across the region at the sixth annual Welcome to Geelong event.
Welcome to Geelong supports and encourages the region’s newest Australians to enjoy our game and to connect to other Australians through belonging to a club.
“It’s amazing to get all these guys down and experience a little bit about Australia, which is our football,” Cockatoo said.
“It’s good to teach them a little bit, even about our club as well.”
Twitter: @tom_king79
