An injury interrupted season for Josh Dunkley limited the 20-year-old to seven senior matches in 2017.

Dunkley dislocated his shoulder in Round 7. He required a reconstruction, missing 12 weeks with the injury.

In May, he agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension, keeping him at the Kennel until at least the end of 2019.

He returned to football via the VFL in Round 20 and earned a senior recall the following week.

Stat that mattered:

Dunkley kicked three goals against Brisbane in Round 5.

What they said.

“Last year I had an ankle reconstruction so it was a delayed start to preseason and this year coming in for a few games and then (suffering) the shoulder injury didn’t help.

“I missed another 12 weeks there. It was good to get back towards the end.

“A shoulder injury lowers your contact level, I couldn’t do a lot of the physical side of the game so I was doing a lot of kicking and skills work with Rohan Smith which really helped.

“Once I did comeback I felt a lot more confident with ball in hand.”

- Josh Dunkley, September 2017