WERRIBEE fans were smiling in early June when Ben McKinley ran on to the field against North Ballarat.
He’d missed the first seven games of the season. Rather than slaving away on the bike or in the weights room, he was finishing his law degree at the University of Western Australia in Perth.
“It was a strange situation,” McKinley says. “I had one subject to complete, which was a bit of a pain but it ended up being only a four-month period … it was good to finish off after eight years of study.”
McKinley has kicked 12 goals in five games since returning from Perth and is soon to start working with law firm Holding Redlich.
“The law degree is very general, so you start work at a firm with a lot of different areas and you rotate through them, work out what you like, what you’re good at and specialise from there,” McKinley says.
“They’ve just started up sports law so I’d be pretty keen to get involved and see what that entails.”
At the end of the 2012 season, McKinley was faced with a choice after being delisted by North Melbourne – stay with the Tigers, having played 38 games while listed with the Kangaroos, or head back to East Perth with which he played while with the West Coast Eagles.
“I always had a feeling after my AFL career I wouldn’t play any more,” he says.
“If I’d got a job in Western Australia I would have stayed there, but Werribee worked pretty hard and I was lucky enough to get a job here.
“The club always embraced me coming back from North with the affiliation, so I had a real soft spot for the Tigers.
“And after the way we finished in the preliminary final last year it felt like we had unfinished business.”
McKinley says he doesn’t believe in heartbreaking losses driving a playing group but admits there is a thirst for retribution among the players who came within a kick of making the grand final.
“I’m not a huge believer … you shouldn’t need that extra motivation,” he says.
“But there was a feeling that we let it slip. It was a real disappointing end to the season and we don’t want a feeling like that again.”
McKinley, 26, says he harbours no desire to get back to AFL level.
“I’ve got absolutely no interest whatsoever,” he says.
“It’s all about helping Werribee out, doing what I can. Hopefully we can make the finals and come out with a flag.”
He hopes the recent come-from-behind victory over Essendon is a blueprint for the season.
“We had a really ordinary first quarter and half before hitting our straps, so hopefully that’s the way the season pans out for us,” he says.
“We’re learning to play together, to really kick on in the second half of the year.
“And if we can win the Foxtel Cup as well, do the double, that would be pretty handy.”
