SMALL forward Jarrod Westwood is revelling in his role with Geelong's VFL side six years after being told he was too short to play for the Cats.
Westwood has enjoyed every moment as a VFL top-up player this season, delighting coach Dale Amos with a four-goal effort against Frankston on Saturday.
Amos, who coached Westwood at South Barwon, said the quietly-spoken forward had well and truly grasped the opportunity given to him by a spate of injuries to Geelong's VFL list.
The 24-year-old yesterday laughed at how his career had "come full circle" from the summer of 2003 when he trained with the Cats but was turned away.
"I did pre-season with them six years ago after coming out of the Falcons but I was too small. I only weighed about 60kg and was getting knocked off the ball a bit too much," Westwood said. "I've put on a good 10kg since then, been lucky enough to play a few games and playing with guys like James Podsiadly and the young guys coming up on the AFL list has been great.
"At the start of the year, I said I wanted to play the highest level I could and it's been really good to do that."
Amos' Cats are set to welcome back an array of AFL listed players in the coming weeks, which could send a selection of top-up players back to their local clubs.
"We'll start to roll a few back in after the break, depending on whether the AFL side stays injury free," Amos said.
"The injuries (to senior players) is something we can't control ... but we've got a young group and stringing a bit of consistency together is our aim. Hopefully we can do that and move up the ladder."
But Westwood is not worried. Every game in a competition that arguably rates second only to the AFL is a bonus.
Returning to South Barwon is hardly a penalty either, with the Swans well and truly on track for a fourth GFL premiership in five years.
