Sidelined for three weeks by a hamstring strain and then unable to squeeze back into the side that played Fremantle in the first week of the finals, McGregor still believes he has a lot to offer Adelaide’s pursuit of the premiership.
“I can definitely be positive; I can be a leader to some of the guys who are playing and haven’t played in finals before,” said McGregor, who played the first 19 AFL games of the season for a total of 136. “It’s a big stage for a couple of the young blokes, (so I can) help them out. The main thing is to be really positive at training and make sure everything is done well in that regard.
“We’re in a Prelim Final, and I still feel apart of the group and I’m part of the reason why we got here. I think there is still a role I can play, and if it’s not on the ground then there is a role behind the scenes – to get the guys up. If we can get past this week anything can happen.”
Following the Fremantle match, Crows coach Neil Craig congratulated McGregor on his handling of his absence from the team.
“We’ve had regular talks on where I am (at) - I don’t think Craigy is too upset at having me in the side, it’s just finding that spot that is the main problem,” McGregor said. “It’s just a waiting game, and I’ve just got to hope that I play well this week and if a spot comes up I’ll be there to take it.”
Although admitting that his form wasn’t at its peak in the weeks leading up to his Round 19 hamstring injury, McGregor’s season has been solid. He kicked four goals against the Kangaroos in Round 16 and has provided a valuable target up forward for an often depleted Adelaide forward line.
“Every season you have periods where you have good form and bad form,” McGregor said. “I didn’t think I was in a rut, or anything like that, it just so happened that the two weeks before I did my hamstring probably weren’t my best weeks.
“I look at the week before that, and I kicked four goals and was in the best players so I don’t think it (losing my place in the side) was something were it was leading up to. I felt I could have got out of it (poor form) the next week, it (the injury) just probably came at a bad stage.”
McGregor, who has played the past two games in the SANFL with Woodville-West Torrens, believes that the players in the team are performing admirably.
“It can be frustrating … you’re sitting around wanting to get out there, but a lot of the guys are playing great footy and doing so well,” he said. “(When) you feel that they (the rest of the team) doing well, you can feel apart of that; you feel good knowing that they are doing the job for the team.”
McGregor kicked three goals and took ten marks against West Coast in the 2005 Preliminary Final, as the Crows bowed out of the Premiership race by 16 points.
“My main memory was the third quarter, they (West Coast) ran all over us,” he said. “And just watching your season go down the toilet is a pretty bad feeling because I really felt something special last year, and felt like we could have made it (to the Grand Final).”
