EARLY in 2022 Connor Rozee was not enjoying his football and feared he would be dropped.
Port Adelaide lost its opening five games of the season and Rozee’s form was by his own high standards not great.
With his confidence low, the 22-year-old saw others in the SANFL performing well and feared he would be dropped.
Looking back after a breakout season in which he earned his first All-Australian blazer and backed it up with a maiden John Cahill Medal win on Tuesday night, Rozee said he could not have imagined at the time that he would have been on the podium at the Best and Fairest event at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
“After the first five games I thought I was going to be dropped so to finish the season individually I think I’ve grown as a player and I’m still at a stage of my career where I’m learning so much and I feel like I’ve got a long way to go,” he said.
“It’s obviously really nice to receive individual awards but we want to be back playing finals and that’s why I play finals – it’s to win.
“As much as this means, I’d give it up to be in finals next year.”
As much as Rozee is a star of the competition, he averaged just 12 disposals and had booted only two goals in the opening four matches of the season.
With a lot of what he called “outside noise” regarding his form, the electric youngster turned to his support network of family and friends, and teammate and mentor Travis Boak to help him through the difficult period.
“Every footballer, their spot is never given to them,” Rozee admitted after taking home the club’s best and fairest.
“I wasn’t in great form early in the season and I guess you never know with those boys fighting for spots in the Magpies as well.
“I spoke with Boaky a lot over the early parts of the season and he helped me through.
“He went through a patch where he went forward and didn’t have the games he wanted to play in terms of form so it’s nice to know that even the best players in the competition aren’t outstanding every week and once you have that understanding it’s easier to come back from.
“I did a bit of work with our midfield coaches and we’ve got a psychologist and a mental visualisation coach so there are a lot of different avenues that our club supports us with and I was able to explore a lot of those.
“A lot of it was just about getting my confidence back, knowing that I am a decent player and it’s kind of hard to know when you’re not in a good patch of form and I guess it’s comforting knowing that every player goes through a period like that in their career.”
In Round 5 with his side facing a 49-point half time deficit to Carlton, Rozee was thrown into the midfield – a spot he was earmarked for but rarely able to slot into due to injuries in the forward line.
His performance at the MCG on the 17th of April was a real “turning the corner” moment for him.
He had 24 disposals, six tackles and a goal as Port stormed back but fell three points short of what would have been a remarkable victory.
But Rozee said it was not just the move into the midfield that turned his season.
“There was a lot more than just that,” he explained.
“I probably wasn’t in a great state in terms of mentally not enjoying my footy much and that probably comes with (losing) in the first five games.
“I never want to be in a losing side and neither does anyone who plays football so it’s a challenge off the field with your mental state and also getting my body right.
“I’ve had a few niggles over the last few years so staying healthy and obviously moving into the midfield was part of that but there were a lot of things I changed and adapted to help me play better.”
Rozee is focussing on being better in the contest and dealing with more attention in the pre-season. But with the enjoyment back, that team success he craves could be just around the corner.
