After nine years in Geelong colours, Swans recruit Dan Menzel has arrived in Sydney and set his sights on a fresh start.
The 27-year-old forward, who piled up 73 games for Geelong before signing with Sydney at last month’s trade period, joined the Swans for their first all-in session of the pre-season at Bat and Ball Oval on Monday.
The Cats delisted Menzel at the completion of the 2018 season, the South Australian found himself in talks with a number of clubs and he couldn’t be certain if he’d receive an AFL lifeline or if his career would hit a roadblock.
That was the blurry world of the unknown Menzel toyed with from afar while on a post-season USA holiday, but now that things are set in stone he’s ready for a second chapter in his career.
“It’s exciting to be starting a new journey with the Swans,” Menzel said.
“It was a long process for me and it’s been a long couple of months. I’ve been overseas so it’s made it difficult to work everything out. But now that it’s all done I’m just really excited to be here and am looking to give it a red-hot go.
“Some of the other boys did more training than me today but it was a solid session for me. I’m just easing into it for now – just getting used to the new drills and the running. I’m sure it will get tougher as the pre-season goes deeper.
“A fresh start is something I was really looking forward to and to land at the Sydney Swans – I couldn’t have asked for a better club.”
Menzel suffered four ACL ruptures in his time with the Cats, a torrid run with injury that saw him miss the entirety of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons, as well as large chunks of Geelong’s 2015 campaign.
But the newly signed Swan says his injury woes are history.
“It feels like it was a long time ago now that I last had troubles with my knees,” Menzel said.
“It was four years ago that I had my last ACL surgery, so in terms of my body and my footy I feel really good. As much as that’s always going to be there for me, I do feel like it’s really behind me too. So now I can just focus on training with the boys and hopefully playing some good footy.”
While Menzel has locked his eyes on a new beginning as a footballer, he says his relocation to Sydney has brought a welcome change beyond life with a Sherrin.
“We’re staying in Coogee at the moment and are 100 metres from the beach,” Menzel said.
“It’s a pretty amazing spot and we went to Bondi on the weekend. Geelong has some nice beaches but I think Sydney probably beats Geelong. And it’s just warmer up here too, which is really nice, so I’m really looking forward to that too.”
