Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
If some people had their way Archie Roberts wouldn’t be playing footy right now.
But the Essendon gun has no regrets over delaying shoulder surgery to play late-season games in a bid to drive the young Bombers into 2027.
Roberts dislocated his right shoulder in Essendon’s loss to Melbourne in June but chose to strengthen it rather than cut his campaign short.
“Even some pretty big names in the game told me it’s probably not worth coming back for with the risk of doing more damage,” Roberts told AAP.
“But there was just no way I was gonna rule my season out.
“Although we were on the bottom of the ladder at the time, I just felt we had so much to gain as a team and as a young group and I couldn’t miss out on that.”
Essendon had a bye so Roberts, who will have surgery at season’s end, only missed two games.
“I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m so glad I made the decision,” Roberts said ahead of Sunday’s clash with Adelaide at Marvel Stadium.
“The physios at the club are so great – they’ve put me in a position where I feel so confident, and I’ve been in some pretty big tackles and some pretty big moments that have really tested it.
“So far, touch wood, it’s all come up well.”
One of struggling Essendon’s shining lights, Roberts is excited to see Nate Caddy, Isaac Kako, Dyson Sharp, Jacob Farrow and others develop late in the season, and then hopefully bounce into 2027.
“I’m just trying to reinforce to these guys that this is going to be the hardest year of football in their careers,” the defender said.
“We’ve been through a lot. For a guy in their first year: losing a coach, winning two games so far.
“It is good to come up with these guys, but I am trying to lead them and just let them know that it does get better from here, and it only does go up.
“I certainly love playing with these boys, and they genuinely do excite me because they’re absolute stars.”
Since Roberts’ return, Essendon suffered a 93-point loss to Brisbane, beat GWS by three points then lost to Hawthorn by 90.
Essendon want to get back to basics against top-four aspirants Adelaide, who have Jordan Dawson and the “electric” Izak Rankine ready to punish mistakes.
“They’ve just got X-factor around the whole ground,” Roberts said.
“They’ve got some great half-forwards and their keys are very, very good.
“They’ve got a great balance and I think that’s what we’re building – we’re building these guys that can go midfield and come down forward too.
“It’s certainly a headache for defenders but we see these guys and we think that we’ve got players that are able to do the same sort of stuff – maybe if it’s not this year it’s next year.”
And there is no harm in dreaming of an upset.
“We’ve got absolutely nothing to lose,” Roberts said.
