JACK Viney says he has no problems with returning to Geelong for the first time in an AFL match, after he suffered a nasty broken jaw during a VFL game at Simonds Stadium in 2012.
Viney, who was playing for Casey before he was officially on Melbourne’s list in 2013, was on the end of a David Wojcinski bump, which resulted in a two-match suspension to the former Cat for rough conduct. Wojcinski also copped a separate one-match ban for striking Viney in the same VFL match.
But Viney, who has now played 38 AFL matches since he made his debut in round one, 2013, said the incident was in the past.
“It doesn’t necessarily play on my mind anymore,” he told Dee TV.
“I know it happened and I probably think about ‘this is where I broke my jaw’.
“It doesn’t hinder the way I go about things or give my any doubts going into the game. It was certainly a difficult period and certainly something I don’t want to happen to me again.”
Viney said Melbourne was determined to bounce back from its shattering two-point loss to St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Sunday. But he was realistic to know that the Demons needed to be at their best to overcome the Cats.
“Geelong had a bit of an inconsistent start to the season, but they’re coming off a really good game against Port, so they’ll been looking to come out and play the same brand of footy,” he said.
“We’re looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss.
“I’m looking forward to getting down there and getting a win.”
Reflecting on the frustrating round 11 loss, Viney said a lot had been learned from the review.
“We haven’t really been in those positions before,” he said.
“A little bit of inexperience didn’t help us, but it’s a tough one and at the same time, a learning experience for guys like myself, who was in the last centre bounce, so I’ve taken a lot of things out of it. A lot of players have also.”
“But it was a fantastic learning experience for not only the players, but the club as a whole. Unfortunately it was a tough result, but a good learning experience at the same time.”
