After a horror run with injury in 2025, Hayden Young has declared he is primed for a strong pre-season heading into 2026.
Young, who played just nine games last season, said an off-season trip to Aspetar was a crucial part of preparing his injury-prone body for the demands of pre-season.
“I’ve had a really good off-season… I spent a week in Doha training to help me prepare for the season and keep myself on the park,” Young said.
“I walked away with a lot of different tools that will help me.”
Young highlighted how last year’s poor pre-season ultimately led to increased injury risk and a lack of confidence in his body.
“The reality is last year I completed 27% of pre-season,” he said.
“Last year coming back and playing there were times I didn’t really feel confident in my body. It’s not a great feeling when you’re going out there playing in big games and not sure how your body’s going to hold up.”
With Young missing the majority of the season, it forced a number of players to fill the void left in the midfield. Although not ideal, it was a silver lining for the Dockers, giving them flexibility through different areas of the ground heading into 2026.
“Other players had to step up, we saw what Corey Wagner did… Shai Bolton went through there and now Murphy Reid has the opportunity to float through there,” Young added.
“It’s great for Caleb (Serong), Andy (Brayshaw) and myself to be able to flip forward at times or throw different things at the opposition.”
When quizzed on the Dockers’ evolving brand of footy, Young hinted that the Dockers were looking to add an element of control coming out of their defensive half.
“Last year we were 18th for uncontested marks… It’s part of our game where we want to find a bit more balance,” he said.
“It felt like we were a good team when we trusted the contest and the game was a bit more chaotic.”
“But we want levers we can pull, and one of those levers will be controlling the ball and moving it a bit quicker out of our back half.”