Nevertheless, the 20 year-old isn't letting the pressure take its toll, rather using it as motivation to earn his place on the senior list after shoulder surgery.
“I’m very keen to get back to playing senior footy, that’s what motivates you when you’re in rehab and that’s why I’ve worked as hard as I have," White told kangaroos.com.au this week.
“It’s very important that I show that I’m good enough to be on this list and go forward with a team that’s really on the rise. I’ve got to move forward with everyone else and hopefully show that I can improve the list and show a bit of leadership. “
After a grueling sixteen week stint in rehab recovering from a serious shoulder injury, White made his long-awaited return to football last week in the VFL and is looking forward to plying his trade again for North Ballarat on Sunday.
“The body felt really good and fit in my first game back. It felt really great to get back out there and I’ve pulled up really well. The shoulder feels good.
“I take a lot of pride in my disposal and it wasn’t as good as I would have liked it to be. It wasn’t too bad for a first hit out but I still have high expectations of myself.”
Hard work on the training track allowed White to make an earlier comeback than originally expected.
“Because I did my shoulder I could do a lot of running in rehab which helped me get back a couple of weeks earlier. My aim was to get back earlier so I worked as hard as I could. I don’t think I could have done another two weeks in rehab,” he added.
His rehabilitation wasn't without its low points though.
“Steve Saunders had me throwing up in my running programs nearly twice a week which was pretty brutal, but it’s all for the dream I guess.”
White had little hesitation going hard defensively on his opponent as he ran out on to the field for his return.
“The biggest thing with a shoulder injury is tackling and the first thing I did was tackle so it was good to get that out of the way and get my confidence up.
“I felt a bit lost at first after a long 16 weeks out, but after the first five minutes once you get a bit of a hit and a tackle the confidence comes back.”
