ROAD TO RECOVERY: Fremantle's Aaron Sandilands has another five years left in him, according to champion ruckman Paul Salmon. Picture: Justin Benson-Cooper Source: PerthNow
ONE of the most accomplished and durable ruckmen in VFL/AFL history says Aaron Sandilands could have another five years of football left in him.
However, AFL Hall of Fame member Paul Salmon says the Fremantle giant's longevity will rest on him being "as ruthless and as selfish as he's ever been in his life".
Salmon won two premierships in a 224-game career with Essendon that spanned 1983-95 and 2002. But his durability came to the fore after he switched, as a 31-year-old, to Hawthorn, where he added further 100 games over five seasons.
Sandilands, who turns 31 at the end of the year, averaged almost 20 games in his first eight years at Fremantle, but two toe injuries limited him to a total of just 27 during the past two seasons. He faces an eight-week layoff after tearing a hamstring in last Sunday's NAB Cup opener.
Salmon went through similar trials, with an achilles reconstruction and a double-hernia operation as a 29 and 30-year-old that limited his game tally to the same as Sandilands 27 in two seasons.
Salmon stressed he had no insight into the Docker's specific situation, but said Sandilands would likely have to adopt the same mentality he did at that stage: be selfish and patient.
"I love watching Aaron and, as a footy fan, I would hope he's got two to five years ahead of him," Salmon said.
"But, to get there, he's probably going to have to be as determined, as ruthless and as selfish as he's ever been in his life.
"If he locks in on what he wants and locks in on the way to get there, he'll be fine.
"If I was injured at this time of the season, I would say, `if I want to play next year, what work do I need to do right now'. I wasn't thinking about what I needed to do to play in Round 1.
"I knew, at my age, that by doing things with a longer-term approach, I would be laying a much more solid foundation.''
Salmon, who at 206cm is 5cm shorter than Sandilands, said his key to longevity was a rejuvenation of both mind and body in his switch to Hawthorn.
"When the fitness guy at Hawthorn interviewed me going into my second pre-season, he asked me how I wanted to prepare for next season," he said.
"I said: 'Don't prepare me for next year, prepare me for the year after.'
"Players and ruckmen in their 30s don't want to get sucked into that short-term thinking.
"I wanted to play footy, I loved playing footy and I wanted to give more to Hawthorn - as Aaron, I'm sure, does to Fremantle - and I needed to trust my body again.
"I played 22 games in a season only twice in my career and the second time I did it was as a 35-year-old, which included two finals, so I played 24 games.
"At 21, you're taking the highway, but at 31, you're taking the scenic route."
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