IT’S easy to forget that Jeremy Howe is entering just his fourth AFL season.
He’s already got 56 matches to his name and has missed just one game since his AFL debut against Essendon in round 11, 2011 – a calf injury sidelined him in round 20 against the Gold Coast Suns this year.
Aside from his magnificent aerial feats, Howe’s durability has been an underrated quality of his game so far. So what’s his secret?
“I never missed any games at all throughout my senior career back home [in Tasmania], although I once broke my leg and recovered from that in seven weeks,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“Maybe I’m just lucky and can recover well. I always get into Misso (Dave Misson) and the doctors at the club and take the mickey out of them by saying ‘I’m the quickest healer at the club’.
“Maybe my body adapts and reacts well to things that other guys don’t. I’ve never really had any soft-tissue injuries. The day after I took my cast off my broken leg, I was running laps down at the local oval.”
Howe has entered the Christmas break with a strong pre-season so far and again his resilience has been evident.
“I’ve managed to stay out on the track for all of the sessions and I haven’t had the injuries that the majority of guys have had to go through. I’ve managed to be injury free, which is great,” he said.
“Everyone wants to get through pre-Christmas and do all the sessions and the body’s held up really well. I’m in my fourth pre-season now and you get into the swing of things and adapt to the training quicker than you’re used to.
“When we run time trials, I’m definitely up in the top group, but now I can feel that transferring into my football and my training. It’s making me confident about my running ability in games.”
Howe acknowledged that his first three seasons had gone quickly, but he was determined to not let his time slip by.
“In my first year, I was just happy to debut and play one game, but to not be dropped and to hold my spot throughout the last two and a half seasons has been good,” he said.
“Coming in as a 20-year-old, you want to stamp your authority as a mature-age player in the team straight away, but it’s gone pretty quick to be honest.
“I remember Greeny (Brad Green) saying ‘I had a 13-year career and it goes past before you know it’. You can take it for granted and I’m sure it does go quick, but four years have gone and I feel like it’s only my second year now,” he said.
Now the exciting forward is eager to add greater consistency to his game next year.
“I’ve had good games and bad games and I just need to bridge the gap between the highs and lows. I look at Nathan Jones’ consistency. His standout games are not way over the top compared to his off days, so that’s the aim to have a consistent year in 2014,” he said.
