Bulldogs midfielder Josh Dunkley admits it will take a little more time for things to return completely to normal after his failed bid to be traded to Essendon last year.
Dunkley returned to the Whitten Oval this year to continue on, but says the public nature of the trade period means there is some lingering awkwardness to work through, but he has been welcomed back into the Kennel.
“The conversations that I had in the back-end of last year were all really good conversations and the way it all transpired, as soon as it didn’t go through, I knew it was a possibility the whole time that I might have to come back and I spoke to the people I wanted to speak to and the boys have been really good and I’ve been welcomed back in with welcome arms and we’re getting back into it,” Dunkley told SEN’s Bob and Andy.
“It was never going to be under the radar as it played out publicly, but there’s always going to be a healing process that takes place and we’ve all moved on pretty quickly.
“The way the pre-season has been, I came back and I worked hard and I did mention earning the respect back of my teammates was my first priority on the list quite a while ago and I feel like I’ve done that and been able to move forward now which is good.”
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge spoke on SEN Breakfast this morning, saying he feels Dunkley has trained hard, but isn’t quite at his best right now.
“I’ve been on record saying 'Dunks' and I are really close away from the club as much as that coach-player relationship,” Beveridge said.
“Look, we have moved on. Whatever the reasons were and the weight of the influence doesn’t really matter anymore.
“He has applied himself. He has trained extremely hard with the rest of the boys. He’s not at his best at the moment as far as his production on the ground.
“He didn’t play his best game against Hawthorn (last week). He’s fully aware that there’s pressure for game time in any role in our team.
“That’s what you do. Every year you endeavour to bolster your list, ensure it’s healthy, create new levels of competitiveness and that’s what we’ve been able to do by bringing Adam in and keeping Josh.”
Dunkley says the team in general had a poor one in the practice match against Hawthorn.
“After the one game, after Hawthorn, I definitely don’t think I was at my best, I was average as we all were I guess against the Hawks and it was one game we’re probably not really proud of," he said.
“I think it’s one you’ve got to look at and I’ll reflect on my game and everyone reflects on their own game, but we watch the vision throughout the week and we’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to work on going into the season.”
The Bulldogs held onto Dunkley in the trade period, but also added Collingwood star Adam Treloar.
The 24-year-old is excited by the sheer depth of the club’s midfield unit and isn’t concerned about what it will look like rotation wise.
“I wouldn’t say I’m worried (about midfield opportunities), it’s a thing that’s going to help us going forward having a lot of quality players inside and outside as well, it’s going to help us win games and hopefully challenge for finals again in 2021, so I think it’s a positive and we’re all going to have share time in there, but it’s going to help us on the offence and defensively as well,” Dunkley said.
However, Dunkley admits that part of his desire to join Essendon was linked to a greater on-ball role with them.
“There’s definitely truth to that (wanting more on-ball time). I want to play the best footy I possibly can, but at the same time, I’m willing to play any role I have to for the team to win.”
“If that this year is playing that mid-forward-wing, I’m happy to do that so long as we’re winning games and that’s going to help us moving forward.”