"I think I'm stuffed here."
It's fair to say Richmond defender Jayden Short's outlook has improved out of sight since his initial reaction to the dislocated elbow he suffered in round three.
But it didn't look good for the 23-year-old when his right elbow bent backwards in gruesome fashion on the Giants Stadium turf in the first quarter of the 49-point loss to this week's grand final opponent.
Short admits to fearing his season would be ruined by an elbow reconstruction that came with a lengthy rehabilitation and no guarantee he would regain complete range in the joint.
"There are doubts that run through your head because I'd never hurt an elbow before," Short told AAP.
"It was a bit of a weird injury and I was restricted for a fair amount of time.
"I didn't know how much range I would get back in my elbow, so it was a bit of an uncertain time. But we've got great doctors that helped me through.
"Even when I got back I sort of had to convince myself that I was confident.
"The doctor told me that I was fine and then I just had to convince myself.
"I just believed that I'd done the work, I don't think anyone has worked to get an elbow right as hard as I did so I thought it would be right."
Short's return to the AFL side in round 15 coincided with Richmond's barnstorming 11-game winning streak that propelled them into a second grand final in three years.
The dashing defender was an emergency for the drought-breaking premiership side in 2017 and having come agonisingly close to the ultimate team success, he promised himself he wouldn't be in that situation again.
"I just saw how great a time the boys had," he recalls.
"I was an emergency so I was part of the parade and everything, but to see how the boys enjoyed all that and then the (grand final win) has been a big driving force for me.
"I wanted to be a part of it and it really gave me something to strive for.
"I had a few things in my game that I had to work on in 2018, but I feel like I've given myself the best opportunity."
Australian Associated Press
