The Club Player Interviews ALROY GILLIGAN
ALROY GILLIGAN
Posted on 17/03/2011
Gilligan Set to Sail - Alroy Gilligan is only 20 years old but already his football journey has covered thousands of kilometres. Being raised in remote Fitzroy Crossing and playing for the Yiyili Powers Gilligan made his way to the tigers colts side via the Clontarf Football Academy. So impressive was his debut he was picked up by AFL side Richmond and was off to live in Melbourne.
He's now back in the old gold and blue and is in sizzling form, we were keen to find out more about the player affectionately known as "Bouda".
You seem confident kicking with either foot but which do you prefer?
I kick with my right foot but these days you have to be able to kick with both.
You grew up in Fitzroy Crossing how did you adjust to living in Melbourne?
Yeah took me a while to adapt, they really are footy crazy. I probably wasn't ready to leave Perth, leave home and tackle the Melbourne lifestyle. I did start to enjoy it in my 2nd year but overall it was a good experience. I had a few injuries and a few family problems back here which didnt help.
How long were you there?
2 years
So you played mainly with Coburg in the VFL?
Yes. I played most of the first season, 2nd season the injuries kept me out of the game quite a bit.
So you're back at Claremont, good to be back?
Yeah it really is I enjoyed my time here before so I'm looking forward to this year.
You look like you're in good form kicking 4 goals last weekend do you like playing up forward?
I'm just happy to be out there. It's up to the coach to decide whether I play forward, mid, back as long as I am in the side that's all that matters.
Does having so many good players in the senior list inspire you to try even harder?
Definitely. To get selected in the league side is going to be a challenge all year so you have to work really hard both at training and on game day.
If you have a solid year is there a chance you could be selected by an AFL side again?
Hopefully. It's not a priority at this stage. I set myself a goal of just enjoying my footy again this year. When you're in the AFL system there's so much pressure it's all just footy footy footy and you can end up hating it.
