AFTER A run of bad luck, Marc Pittonet isn’t really bothered about external noise — he’s just happy to be back playing football.

Not that the commentary has ever really fazed him anyway. After all, as he was more than happy to tell media on Tuesday, this just happened to be the first press conference he had ever done.

As someone who generally prefers going under the radar, he was more than happy to front up at St Joseph’s Primary School in Brunswick West for the launch of the 2023 AFL Carlton Respects Game.

Just don’t expect teaching to be on the big man’s future agenda, despite how welcoming he was alongside Mitch McGovern and Mua Laloifi.

“I don’t mind public speaking, even though I was a bit nervous for this press conference,” he said.

“That definitely won’t be me [teaching]: I’m finance.”

The smile hasn’t really left Pittonet’s face since walking through the doors of IKON Park at the end of 2019, despite still being a few games away from his 50-game milestone.

It was opportunity that prevented Pittonet from more senior game time at Hawthorn: he was a consistent presence for Box Hill in his five years at the Hawks, which included a VFL premiership.

However, his last two years have been marred by inopportune contact injuries. A syndesmosis injury in 2021 was followed by a PCL injury while in career-best form at the beginning of 2022. 

Now back in the thick of it, Pittonet doesn’t want to leave anything to chance.

“We’ve been a bit disjointed with boys being in and out of the side, so being able to get more boys playing more games together and getting a better understanding makes such a difference,” he said.

“I’ve had a bit of bad luck in the last couple of years! So being able to build on my stoppage work - which is my foundation - and add more aerial threats to my game and pushing more forward, I can’t do that without continuity.

“It’s about getting more balance and connection . . . that familiarity can’t be undervalued.”

A number of questions centred around Pittonet’s connection with fellow ruckman Tom De Koning, who will be unavailable for selection this weekend after sustaining a concussion.

Pittonet remained consistent with a message he has had since he arrived at the Club — that whether they’re a ruck pairing or solo in their own right, the key was getting the best out of the team.

“He’s a quality individual . . . he’ll be better for the journey. We all go through it,” he said.

“Our game styles complement each other. We’re really different: I don’t jump quite as high, as much as I would like to think so!

“The ability to train each week against each other and make each other better, coach each other out there and - when we play together - being able to work over opponents on game day, our relationship is fantastic.

“We like playing together, so it’s about how we do it to the best of our ability. Unfortunately I was delayed in pre-season, so we didn’t get much time to practice, so it’s about how we keep building because we think we’ll be better for it.”