Aaron Cadman has always been in charge of his AFL destiny, but when the Greater Western Sydney rising star sustained a “weird” injury he suddenly felt out of control.
The No.1 pick of the 2022 draft, Cadman missed the first few weeks of this season with a pelvic injury, as he looked to build on two seasons of consistent top-grade football.
The 22-year-old had also inked a four-year contract extension with GWS, having booted 44 goals and posted 234 disposals in his best season to date last year.
The forward returned in round five against Richmond but suffered another setback when he picked up a concussion.
He returned on Sunday against North Melbourne and this time got through unscathed, slotting three goals to help the Giants beat the Kangaroos by seven points.
“It’s been a pretty frustrating start. I’ve never really missed any footy because of injury, so I wasn’t really sure how to deal with it,” Cadman told AAP.
“When you’re on the sidelines, not in the main team, you’re playing VFL, but then when you’re not playing any footy at all, that’s another thing.
“It’s quite frustrating when you feel like you can’t make an impact … You’re training on the weekends when everyone’s playing.”
Despite missing the start of the season, Cadman feels he’s learnt a lot, especially in trusting other people.
Having never sat on the AFL sidelines with an injury peviously, Cadman says it was a different feeling as he had to put his trust in the team doctors rather than himself to help him improve.
It wasn’t an easy task, especially as his injury would flare up at different times throughout the week.
“It was a weird injury. I felt fine until I started running,” Cadman said.
“I had to really trust in what they (medical team) were saying and their years and years of schooling.
“It’s really set me up and helped me just get that patience mindset.”
Cadman added that the win against North gave confidence not only to him but also to the whole team, after they went into the clash having lost four of their previous five games.
Ahead of this Sunday’s match against Gold Coast, the forward is also feeling inspired by Toby Greene, after the captain surpassed Callan Ward in becoming the most capped Giant (268 games).
“I want to be a part of the next generation,” Cadman said.
“When you see Toby get through his milestone and what he’s done for the club, that makes me want to be a part of this club even more and have half the impact half of what he’s done.”