AS THE VFL season started for Casey last week, so did the journey of a former Crow now at the Demons, who had endured a serious injury and significant rehabilitation.

The return of Aidan Riley may have slipped under the radar somewhat, but his ability to bounce back from a nasty leg fracture, switch AFL clubs during his comeback and then play again at an elite level was a big tick. 

“It’s been a pretty long pre-season. I’ve been stuck in rehab for the majority of it and I’m now starting to get out there again with my new team and teammates and I’m just enjoying footy again, so it was good fun [last week],” Riley told Dee TV.

The 22-year-old, who was born in Perth, recruited from Wollongong, drafted by Adelaide and now with Melbourne, has experienced a challenging 10 months, after he broke his leg with the Crows against the West Coast Eagles in round 15 last year.

Riley, who was playing his 12^th AFL match, broke his fibula after being involved a “freak tackle”.

“I just got caught under and it snapped,” he said.

“I went into surgery the next day, which was 8^th July and the plan was to put a plate in and put everything back together, and it wouldn’t have been too bad. But my ankle was pretty stuffed as well, so they had to put a screw through both the fibula and tibia, which is called the syndesmosis, so I had that as well as the plate and it made the injury a lot worse.

“I was in a moon boot for three months, with no weight barring at all, so [I was] just [on] crutches and that was pretty frustrating. I wasn’t able to do a great deal and after three months, I had one of the screws out and I was able to walk.”

During his recovery, Riley, who was originally claimed by Adelaide via the NSW scholarship scheme, was delisted by the Crows. But he gained a football lifeline, when Melbourne snapped him up as a delisted free agent.

“While [the rehabilitation] was happening, the whole thing went through with Melbourne and I was grateful for the opportunity of coming over here,” he said.

“It’s been great and everyone at the club has been really good in helping me – the physios and all of the fitness staff have been really good in helping me transition and build my leg back up to where it was.

“It was great on the weekend [to play for Casey] – just to see all that hard work pay off and finally get out there and play again. It was great fun.”

Riley, a 182cm midfielder, said settling into a new AFL club and continuing his rehab was another test to overcome. 

“It was pretty tough. Coming to a new club, you want to get out there and show them what you can do – and really get in with the group and try and fit in,” he said.

“Being in rehab makes it tough – you’re not out there training with [your new teammates], so you really only see them in the locker room, so it makes it a lot more difficult to try and build those relationships. But I’ve found the guys here were really good.

“There were a lot of new players … which helped me in a way. Having Bernie [Vince] come over helped too, because there was a face that I already knew. But as I got more comfortable with the schedule and how things [work] around here, I felt a lot more comfortable with the setting, so it wasn’t too hard really.”

Although Riley has embraced his fresh start, he hasn’t been able to shake one tag – his nickname ‘Pig Dog’, which is a reference to his ferocious attack on the ball.

“I got that at Adelaide and big Ivan Maric, [now at Richmond], was the one behind that,” he said.

“I’ll probably have to ask him why – I think it’s just the way I play – I just chase and tackle and do all of the stuff that doesn’t get recognised as much.

“I think that was why and it caught on pretty quick at Adelaide and I couldn’t really shake it and I was hoping [when] I came over here – that it wouldn’t stick. But Bernie told a couple of the boys and it just took off. I’ve got that now and I’m stuck with it, which is fine and I’m used to it now.”