Sportspeople play under duress. It’s part and parcel of the business they’re in.

Unfortunately, most in the grandstands feel as though the 22 men who take to the field are fighting fit and in peak condition. What’s a bit of tape on the shoulder going to do, anyway?

For Collingwood ruckman Cameron Wood, a strapped shoulder masked a serious injury that required surgery at the end of the season.

“It was my right shoulder - my rucking shoulder. I hurt it in round six against the Western Bulldogs in an innocuous tackle with Ryan Griffen,” Wood explained to collingwoodfc.com.au.

“My shoulder clicked when I laid a tackle. It felt fine for the rest of that game, and I only noticed the next day that it wasn’t quite right. I just nursed it through the rest of the year, and it gave me the s---s.”

“It wasn’t dislocated, it had moved around a bit more than it should in the socket. I had it strapped pretty heavily, and it went numb a few times during the game.”

It’s now been five months since Wood went under the surgeon’s knife, which has made perfect timing for his assault on 2012.

“From there on, I got together with the physios and I couldn’t really make it any stronger. I could do a little bit with weights, so I tried to improve its strength as much as I could and make it stable.

"Myself and Mick Dugina (strength and conditioning coach) had a nice weights combination going for most of the year. We started that up again last week.

“It wasn’t ideal, but I probably wasn’t the only guy nursing an injury throughout the year.”

“It wasn’t ideal” also describes Wood’s end to 2011. Having played 12 of the 22 matches between rounds four and 24, Wood missed out on the September action for the second year in succession.

But when Darren Jolly limped off with minutes remaining in the preliminary final, Wood was suddenly thrust into the reckoning for selection in the Grand Final, a month after he had last appeared in the seniors.

“It was a bit of a weird one,” he mused.

“I probably got more messages after the prelim than I did in any other game I’ve played in.

"They were just saying ‘yeah you’ll be playing’ but I didn’t know more than anyone else. I just did what I could. I trained as though I was going to play. I went to the game as if I was going to play, although I knew I was an emergency.

“It was really disappointing. Still being around the mark a little bit as an emergency for the preliminary final and the Grand Final, going in the parade and being pretty much amongst it but still being far away.”

That feeling of being so near yet so far has given Wood’s motivation a sharper edge as he enters 2012.

“That’s probably something that’s going to spur me on. The guys who played in the Grand Final and lost will also be spurred on a lot. For me, in the last two years I haven’t played in a final, let alone a Grand Final, so it will be a motivator for me.”

The arrival of 208cm New South Welshman Jarrod Witts could make things interesting for Wood as he strives to claim a permanent place in the senior side. While Witts’ arrival has generated plenty of excitement, Wood’s own form in 2011 indicates that he isn’t about to concede ground to other teammates.

Having developed greater consistency (illustrated by a career high number of hitouts in 2011), Wood is hopeful that his approach to his training and preparation will pay dividends in 2012.

“It was just the consistency and being a lot more professional off the field as well.

“Doing extra things around the club, doing extra things with the coaches, watching the video and working with David Stiff (High Performance Manager) a little bit. I went through goals and sacrifices, that sort of thing, working as a professional athlete.

"The way the game’s going now, everyone trains as hard as everyone else but it’s just the little things - the one or two per cent things - that can improve.

“I just tried to relish being the number one ruckman as much as I could. Once ‘Jolls’ was fit again (Jolly missed eight matches between rounds four and 14), I was just trying to make it difficult for the selection committee.

“I suppose I was a bit in and out towards the end of the year, but I think that my footy was probably the most consistent I’ve played when I was playing in the seniors."

One man who may make a difference to Wood’s progress this season is John Barnes, who joins the club as ruck coach. The former Essendon premiership player will work with several of the club’s big men, and Wood is excited by the prospect of learning off one of the most successful ruckmen of the 1990s.

“He wasn’t a tall ruckman, he’s probably six foot four or five. He’s not that much taller than Bucks. But I guess that means he’s probably got a lot more tricks up his sleeve,” Wood said on Monday.

“He’s had to battle against the taller guys so obviously I’m a bit taller than Barnesy but if I can take away a few tricks that he had then it can benefit my game instead of just relying on being tall."

The payoff Wood is searching for is regular selection in the senior side, having never played more than 13 games in a season.

The experience of yo-yoing between the seniors and the VFL in the past few years has hardened him, and acts as a reminder that life at the highest level offers no guarantees.

“That’s what elite sport is like, I guess. There are some players who aren’t guaranteed a game every week and they might find themselves in and out a little bit.

My next progression is to try and make myself a permanent member every week."