![Josh Chatfield pushes away from Hayden Crozier during the Bulldogs' intra-club match in Ballarat on Saturday. Picture by Adam Trafford Josh Chatfield pushes away from Hayden Crozier during the Bulldogs' intra-club match in Ballarat on Saturday. Picture by Adam Trafford](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/128797359/57748511-0f0b-439b-937e-f324b5d584fa.jpg/r0_183_3573_2192_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Koroit premiership player Josh Chatfield is striving to reach finals with Footscray in 2023 after tasting the VFL for the first time last year.
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The 22-year-old, who featured in the Saints' 2018 Hampden league flag, played 11 games for the Bulldogs last season in an injury-interrupted campaign that concluded with the Bulldogs in 11th spot. The young forward tore his quad and medial ligament at different stages of the year.
He also played seven games for his aligned Ballarat league club North Ballarat, slotting 11 goals.
Fresh from signing a new deal with the state-league outfit, Chatfield hopes his major injury woes are behind him and believes his side has serious potential.
"I can't wait, the start's not too long away," he said.
"(I'm) just trying to get a bit of continuity back into the body in terms of training and getting some practice games over and done with, so we can start the season.
"Injuries - no one ever wants them but they do happen to everyone - so just trying to get a bit of luck this year and definitely want to play finals for sure. We've got a pretty good group of blokes at the Bulldogs so it makes it pretty fun also."
Chatfield featured for the Bulldogs at an intra-club game in Ballarat on Saturday, kicking a goal.
He suffered a corkie just above the knee in the second term but decided to play on, not wanting to miss out on the rare fixture that featured many of the Bulldogs' star-studded AFL list.
The former Saint said he relished the experience but strategically decided not to fly for the ball as much as usual to avoid further injury.
He sustained a similar corkie in 2022 which led to his torn quad but said he would take better care of the injury this time around. He is certain he will have recovered in time for the Bulldogs' first round game on March 25 against Casey Demons.
"The same thing happened last year and then it sort of (led) on to the quad not being used as much as it should have been and then it was eventually torn at the top of the quad," he said.
"(I'll) probably miss next week, possibly, just got to manage it. (It's) pretty swollen at the moment, just got to rest, ice and probably get some sodium crystals on it."
Chatfield, who kicked six goals for the Bulldogs in 2022, said he would benefit from his first year in the state league.
He admitted it took time to learn the team's different structures which "trickle down from the AFL (side)".
"Most of our set-ups or structures revolve around the AFL program," he said.
"It's a lot to take in but I'm in my second year now, I'm sort of getting the hang of it pretty easily."
Chatfield expects to play mostly in the forward-line for the Bulldogs but said he could spend time at the opposite end of the field.
"There might be some times where I might swing down back," he said.
"I've been training a little bit there in the preseason but as the coach said it's pretty good to have some flexibility and not be stuck in one position."
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