Cosgriff was quick to put the disappointment of not being selected in the 2003 National Draft behind him when Richmond phoned him one hour after the draft and invited him to do a pre-season with the club. Despite training at Punt Road the Essendon recruiting staff already had their eye on Cosgriff. Adrian Dodoro phoned the youngster while he was at Richmond and said the club was interested in him.
Richmond had given Cosgriff no promises about putting him on the rookie list. ""They just said come and train with us and see what happens."" Cosgriff found out via the internet he had become a Bomber and he had no hesitation in swapping the yellow sash for a red one. The 18-year-old was rapt to come to the club he had supported from childhood. ""I am looking forward to playing against some quality opposition and playing alongside some good players. I think it will be a lot quicker and I am expecting a lot more physical contact,"" Cosgriff said.
Cosgriff commenced at the club the week before Christmas and has permanently moved down from Shepparton and is living with his aunty in Airport West. He said the training load has been intense, but he is slowly coming to grips with it. As part of the pre-season electives program, Cosgriff competed in the Ringwood Gift on Sunday, January 18th. He claims that sprinting was never one of his strong points but he made the final of the 70m novice race, which teammate Ricky Dyson won. To his surprise his speed work has greatly improved since December. ""We did sprint tests the other day and I came up alright. I came fourth in the club for sprinting. I think it must be due to all of the training,"" Cosgriff said modestly.
Cosgriff commented that since coming to the club all the players have been extremely helpful and welcoming and said they are just normal people. ""When you are not here you think they are big AFL people and then when you get here, you realise they are just normal people. They are just like blokes from Shepparton,"" Cosgriff said.
Cosgriff is already trying to model himself on several of his teammates, a few of who are former rookies. ""Pev and Johnno (Mark) have stood up and become good players in the senior side and both are very hard workers. Johnno goes one hundred miles an hour on the training track. Mark Bolton is another hard trainer and has always got his mind on the job.""
Mainly played junior career in the ruck and then wasn’t tall enough, so I got put into full forward. At 187cm he is tall enough to hold down a key position and at times last season was moved into defence. ""A few times last year when I played for Vic Country they threw me down the back. I never used to like playing in defence, but I didn’t go too bad, ever since then it hasn’t been too bad.""
The 18-year-old isn’t concerned if he plays forward or back, he just wants to give himself the best opportunity of making the senior list. He said there is competition between the five other rookies, but it is a healthy competition. ""We are all going for the same thing, but at the same time we are all mates. I am just trying to have a good year in the VFL and impress Sheedy,"" Cosgriff said.
The head coach has already noticed the rookie, even if it is not for his football skills at the moment. ""He gives me a fair flogging over my hair because it is bleached,"" Cosgriff laughed.
