FORMER Geelong hardman Max Rooke admits that stepping away from life as an AFL footballer is an adjustment you can't truly ready yourself for.
His premature retirement at the end of last season due to a chronic knee injury didn't allow him time to prepare for what immediately lay ahead, so his summer has been spent looking after his beautiful baby girl Evie with partner Ollie, renovating his house in Ocean Grove and attacking the overgrown garden.
But this week, after months of weighing up his options, the 29-year-old has accepted a role as assistant coach of GFL club Newtown and Chilwell, with the hope that it might lead to employment outside of the game.
"People tell you that it is going to be hard, but until you actually go through it you really don't know what it is going to be like," Rooke said of the adjustment to life after the AFL. "Not many guys finish when they want to in the game, but I suppose I was thinking of at least a couple more years.
"I've been back to Geelong a few times catching up with the boys and also getting help and advice on what to do next, because you don't really know."
Geelong spoke to Rooke about a possible role with its VFL team, and it flew him up to Canberra in an ambassadorial role, but in the end Rooke opted to get away from the place he had called home for almost a decade and "start afresh".
I was always keen to get back into local footy once I finished up at AFL so I'm really looking forward to it now (at Newtown)," he said.
"I love that local footy club atmosphere. I wasn't sure I was going to be in Geelong but now that I am settled here I thought that this was the best option."
While Rooke harbours hopes of "playing again one day", he has already ruled out pulling on the boots in 2011 due to his knee injury.
He will work with playing coach Jacob Spolding as the Eagles look to build on a positive finish to 2010.
"I went to training for the first time this week. I haven't had anything to do with Newtown before so it's all pretty new to me."
Rooke still keeps in touch with his mates at Geelong and said the inside word out of Skilled Stadium was that the Cats were flying in pre-season.
"I know that training has been as hard as ever. All the guys are saying they are buggered the whole time," Rooke said.
He also believed the group was enjoying having the spotlight taken off them following the controversial departure of Gary Ablett.
"I don't think it (losing Ablett) will harm the club too much," he said. "I can't see it affecting the blokes and I reckon they will still be a great team. It was hard on everyone last year and it would have been hard on him (Ablett), and that's probably one of the reasons he wanted to get away from it."
Rooke, who played just one game and was even flown to America in a bid to overcome the knee injury last year, admitted it was a frustrating end to his 135-game AFL career.
"But at the same time, I had 2009 to go out with in a way," he said.
"It would have been nice to have a good year last year as well, but 2009 was the last time I was fully fit and that year ended pretty well."
Last Modified on 11/01/2012 13:32