A permanent move to defence has provided Essendon's Kyle Hardingham with greater certainty in his second year at AFL level, having begun his career as a high-flying forward.

 

Hardingham kicked four goals on debut last season against North Melbourne in round 17, but his pace, leap, strength and smarts have been employed in a defensive role in 2011.   

""I obviously played a few games last year, but I'm just trying to cement that spot in the backline now, considering the only way I could get a game last year was to play forward,"" Hardingham said.
 
""It's good that I've been given the opportunity in the NAB Cup to go down back, where I've always played my footy, and try to impress that way.""

 

""It's been awesome back there, particularly being given a task each week to shut down a key forward of the opposition. My versatility helps me out and it helps the team out as well, as it gives the blokes opportunities to play in other roles and it frees up our users of the ball.""

In a way, Hardingham's shift from attack to defence embodies the new approach of the club under coach James Hird, and the 22-year-old said he had learned much from Sean Wellman, Essendon's defensive coach.

""He's been very good. The time he's spent in the system, and the fact he was such a good backman himself, gives us all a lot of trust in what he's saying. He tells a lot of the boys that our first option is to defend and from there, that's where we can attack, so the balance is right,"" Hardingham said.
 

Though his career is in its infancy, Hardingham's progression has been a success in perseverance. After missing out on the 2008 NAB AFL Draft, Hardingham spent the 2009 season playing with East Fremantle in the WAFL.

 

After winning its best and fairest, he was again overlooked in the draft, before being recruited to Essendon through the pre-season draft. Fremantle selected Michael Barlow with the pick after Essendon chose Hardingham, and he said he used Barlow's early success last year as a driver.

""I had a lot of people come up to me and say 'We should have taken Barlow instead of you' and that sort of thing, and it was a big motivation thing for me to try and get there,"" he said.

""When I got my first game, I was really happy to show the critics that I could play football and Essendon drafted me for a reason.""

Now, after playing in the Bombers' last six games of 2010, its whole NAB Cup campaign, and its first three games of the home and away season, Hardingham is beginning to feel more comfortable at the top level.

 

Though he doesn't know who he will line-up on this week against Carlton – he suspects it will be one of their small forwards – he's looking forward to the challenge.

""The last time we played them, they beat us pretty well, but it's exciting. The biggest crowd I played in front of before I got drafted was about 13,000 and now coming into a game that could get a crowd of up to 85,000 is a bit daunting. But it's also an awesome feeling running out there,"" he said.